The Man From Darkness
by Hero of Olympus in Disguise
Summary: Percy is a seventeen year old teenager who has returned to London with his mother after a heart-breaking tragedy. His mother is hoping he'll make new friends and forget about the past. But forgetting about it has become a whole lot harder than she thought. How can he forget the past if the past is being waved right in front of his face and held in his experienced arms? AU, sort of.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry ahead of time if anyone is out of character… I haven't read or watched a Harry Potter book/movie in absolutely ages.**

 **. . .**

 **Percy's POV:**

"Mom," I grunted as I set down a heavy moving box, "I don't get it. Why London? And why now?"

"Because," she started as she walked into the empty kitchen and started placing things in the pantry, "it's time to head back to our origins. You need a break from the U.S. right now, so I decided to accept the job offer. Besides," she shrugged, "maybe you can _reconnect_ with certain people."

I sighed and kissed my mom on the cheek before lifting three boxes and walking up the stairs to my new room.

Hi, my name is Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy. Everyone does. My mom's name is Sally Jackson. I was born in London and raised here for seven years before moving with my mom and dad to the United States. Due to an unforgettable accident, one that I caused, my mom and I are now on our own and have moved back to London where she thinks I will be safe. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're back, but I'm also not glad. It has been almost nine years since I have last been here, and I don't think I'll be able to fit in like last time.

I sighed and set the boxes down on the floor. I ran my fingers through my messy black hair and looked around the spacious room. I found that my mother's old friends had already set up some basic furniture. Cherry wood seemed to be the main material. Cherry wood full sized bed, dresser, desk, and nightstand. I opened up one of the boxes and started fixing my bed to have a blue comforter and two blue and two white covered pillows. After fixing my bed to my liking, I moved on to my dresser and placed a few framed photos, pens, books, my MacBook Pro, and a mini plant on it.

I plugged in my earphones and listened to some music as my mind started to wander and my body began to put everything away on its own. After three hours, I had set up my speaker system, iMac computer, small television, and the rest of my furniture to my liking. After placing my books under my nightstand, I stood back and looked at the final box. _"Dad's Stuff"_ it read in sloppy Sharpie handwriting. Unconsciously, I pulled the sleeve of my blue sweater further down my arm, wanting to forget the past.

I sat on my bed and stared at my phone. I didn't have much friends in New York, so I wasn't expecting to get a message from anyone. On the contrary, I was waiting for nothing to happen. I just stared at the blank screen.

 _Knock Knock_. "Percy, honey, it's time to eat."

I looked up and pulled my earplug out and hummed in response. When Mom looked at me, her arm falling to her side, I looked down at my lap and started wrapping my headphones around my phone. "Hm? Uh yeah, I'll be down in a sec."

. . .

"Percy, sweetie," she reached across the table and grabbed my hand, "please try to make some friends here. _Please,_ for me?"

I looked into her eyes and contemplated what she was asking of me. All I want to do is make her proud, and now this is my time. I may have failed in America, but in London, I am determined to not fail her. "Sure. I'll try, but I'm not making any promises," I pointed my fork at her playfully. She smiled and continued to eat her pasta. We ate in silence, outside it was dark and the dining room light was the only light on in the house at the moment.

. . .

I walked into my room, taking off my shirt, jeans, shoes and socks, and changed into black shorts. I left my black leather shark tooth necklace and leather anklet on, and sat on my desk, facing the window. I started typing on my computer, searching up random things on YouTube or history about the town I live in. Thirty minutes into my research, my spine started tingling, forcing me to look up. I looked into beautifully combed brunet hair, and sparkling brown eyes. She jumped up, as if squeaking, and turned a shade of pink. I raised my eyebrows, but smiled and waved to her nonetheless. I thought about what my mother told me, _"…please try to make some friends here."_ Maybe this girl can be one of my new friends? I smiled as she waved back. I walked behind my desk, and opened up the window. Her mouth moved, showing me she said "oh" and moved to her window to open it up. I put on a tee to be a little more decent, and smiled and waved to her once again.

"Hey!" I yelled to my neighbor. She smiled and tucked a strand of wavy hair behind her ear. "Hello," she greeted back. I felt my necklace swing back and forth.

"So you're the new neighbor?"

I looked left and right and back to her. "Yeah, that's me. The name's Percy Jackson."

She nodded her head and looked at me. "Hermione Granger," she introduced herself.

We would've shaken hands, but our windows had quite a distance between them. "So uh, where do you go to school?"

"Oh I go somewhere out of town. Where do you attend school?"

"I don't know. My mom said she's sending me to a special school, one that I used to go to when I lived here before." I partly lied.

She raised an eyebrow. "You used to live here?" She asked with her heavy accent. I thought it was cute though.

"Uh yeah. I lived here 'til I turned seven. Mom and Dad moved to America, so I was dragged with them. And nine years later, here we are."

"Where does your father work?"

My face turned serious and I started to play with my shark tooth. "Dad—my dad died in an accident last year. That's another reason why my mom and I moved back."

The girl, Hermione, dropped her face to look at her interlacing fingers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring bad memories back to the surface."

"It's fine. You didn't know. What about your parents? What do they do for a living?"

We had a full conversation. She told me about her parents and I told her about mine. I explained a little about myself before we realized it was getting late. We said goodbye and closed our windows. Taking off my shirt and leaving on my boxers, I went to bed thinking of a brunette.

Maybe she _can_ be my new friend.

. . .

Running out of the house with a black skate board, a blue tee shirt, black shorts and black and white sneakers, I yelled, "See ya later Mom! I'll be home in an hour!"

I fixed my silver bracelet, leather necklace, and made sure my anklet was secured before hopping onto my skateboard and cruising down the street. I wanted to see if I still remember my way around this familiar town.

Too bad I wasn't thinking of directions.

I was wondering about the school I was going to start attending next week. Will I see Hermione there? Doubtful. Unless she is like me. It has been a while since I've seen someone like me, so I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a mug—God. I have to stop falling into old habits.

As I was, er, thinking, will I see Hermione there? Will I see anyone I know? Maybe. Maybe not.

 _BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP!_

My eyes widened as I realized that I was crossing the street. I yelled a quick apology to the driver that almost ran over me, and pulled my skateboard up, deciding it was time to head home. I raised my arm up to my head to wipe off the sweat from my forehead, I didn't care if my tattoo was showing. Not that anyone would care about me anyways. No one ever has, no one ever will. That's how life is. I started to run.

. . .

" _. . ._ and one notebook," Mom read the school supplies list. My jaw dropped. "Why so much?!"

She chuckled. "Well this is technically your sixth year, since you are just a transfer student. But I guess your new friend can help you out," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. I blush a new shade of red. "Mom!" I protest. She giggles and walks into the kitchen. "Oh no you don't, I'm the chef, remember?" I blocked her from the view of the stove. She sighed and headed to the living room. "I know, I know, I know," she waved her hand in a swatting motion, her other hand resting on her belly. I chuckled and put on my white waist apron. Tonight, we're going to eat some yummy food.

When dinner was ready, the bell rung. "I'll get it," I wiped my hands on a towel, hung my apron, and headed towards the door.

"Hello?" I called out. I swung the door open and saw the girl from yesterday, Hermione, standing in front of me.

"Her…mione, right?" I pointed at her. She smiled at me and nodded her head. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Um, I saw you walking down the street earlier, you dropped this," she handed me my silver bracelet. I reached out to grab it.

"Thanks! Um, we were just about to eat dinner, would you _. . ._?" I awkwardly invited her. She shook her head and walked off after saying goodnight and goodbye.

I didn't see her for the rest of the week.

. . .

"Alright Mom," I whined as she followed me and kept on repeating to write to her, and blah blah blah. I abruptly turn around. "Okay, platform 9 ¾, I promise I'll send Blackjack with a new letter every three days. I'll see you during Winter Break! Bye! Love you!" I kissed her on the cheek and after checking to see if no one was looking, I ran straight into the wall and through the magical portal with my cart of things. My pure black owl hooted, and I smiled. I stared in awe at the marvelous train in front of me. My father was a well-known wizard when he was alive, and now I must live up to the family name. I have already started. I'm well known in America, among wizarding schools, and other places.

After putting my luggage away, and rather quickly (a perk of being on time thanks to Mom,) I went all the way to the back of the train and sat in a large empty compartment. I put on a hoodie and snuggled up against the window, falling asleep as frozen rain tapped on the glass.

Half an hour later, I woke up to the continuous sound of doors opening and closing. I looked up, wiped off any drool I may or may not have, and saw a flash of brunet hair. I got up and turned on my heel. "Hermione?" The girl turned around and indeed, it was my neighbor. "So I assume you weren't joking when you said you attend school out of town?" I smiled and crossed my arms, failing at looking serious. She turned around and stepped forward to shake my hand. "Nice to see you again too, Percy."

"Yeah well the feeling's mutual."

The sleeve to my sweatshirt rid up a little, revealing some black ink. A red-head boy pointed at my arm, looking as if he were ready to pee his pants. **(Sorry Ron, but you guys have got to admit that's how he looks sometimes.)** "What's that?" He asked, his lips quivering.

A boy with round glasses, a Z-like scar on his forehead, and black hair elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up," I heard him murmur. I laughed at their antics. "The name's Percy," I pointed at myself with my thumb, giving a lopsided grin. I shook the two boys' hands.

"Harry," the one with black hair like mine said.

"R-Ron," said the redhead.

"Lighten up, Ron! I'm not gonna bite. Anyways, you guys looking for seats? You can take my spot. I'll go somewhere else if you'd like," I politely offered, facing Hermione. Harry stepped forward, but Hermione beat him to the chase. "No, Percy. It's okay. You can stay, you were here first. We'll join you."

I nodded and sat down. Ron and Harry sat next to each other across from me, leaving Hermione to sit next to me. I leaned on the window once again, and fiddled with my shark tooth before falling into a light slumber. The train lurched forward.

 _My father, a tall broad man with laughing lines on his face, and the most powerful wizard of the century smiled at me. We both sprint forward, casting spells and charms as other wizards, Dementors, and other unfriendly creatures surrounded us. One of the Dementors were able to strike my father, sucking all the happiness away from him. "_ Expecto Patronum _," I yelled, thinking of all the happy times I had with my family and old friends. A Pegasus appeared, soaring around the field, driving away the Dementors. My father shivered and shook as he went through shock. "Dad, dad you'll be okay. I'm going to get Mum," I said with my British accent. As I stood up, he grabbed my arm. "There is no time, my son. Take care of your mother for me will you?" He smiled, for the last time._

I sat up in a cold sweat. Panting, I looked around. Ron was pretty much spread out on the whole bench while Harry was leaning on the window as I was. The train hit a bump, causing Hermione's head to fall onto my shoulder. I blushed as I felt a spread of a tingling sensation spread through my shoulder. I quietly cleared my throat and stayed as still as possible, trying to not awake the others.

I rolled up my sleeve and stared at my SPQR tattoo, showing my years of service in a special wizard military group. Our purpose was to save both the muggle, and wizard-ing worlds. We wanted our separate worlds to live in peace and harmony, and not have to worry about war. People used to think of us as peacekeepers/makers. I went through many things while in the group, and became known as the boy who can go through all. Schools requested I attend their classes, and the Ministry of Magic offered me a position. I politely declined. Legends were written of me, and I would beg my dad to take them down. I was one of the top in my class, until my father died. I had become depressed, so I was discharged immediately, and told that I could not come back until my emotional issues were resolved. Mom felt bad and immediately applied for jobs here. She owns a small candy shop that makes enough to help us make it through. She believes me going back to where I started will help me become my old self once again. I turn seventeen in two weeks, but will be attending with the sixth year. Mom talked to Professor Dumbledore, and if I do well, I'll be put in my proper place with the seventh year classes. I don't really want to be put there though, cause then I'd know no one. I felt Hermione start to stir, so I hastily pulled my sleeve back down and pulled out a chocolate bar. Chipping a square off of it, I moaned at the familiar taste of melting chocolate.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking left and right. When her eyes landed on me, I offered her a weak smile and pointed the candy bar her way.

"Want it?"

She looked at it warily. I chuckled at her caution. "Don't worry, I chipped it. I didn't bite it. You want it?"

She reached out and snapped the bar in half she kept one half and I kept the other. We both started biting into the chocolate. "See? Not poisoned," I supported my previous claim. She smiled and gave a small laugh.

"The chocolate is good."

"Mmm. It was my last American bar," I frowned at the sudden realization. "Oh well," I piped up, "Mom owns a candy shop. She'll probably have another shipment come in by the next time I'm home," she shook her head at my little mood swing. I looked at her, Harry, and then Ron.

"So, any of 'em your boyfriend?" I jutted my chin towards the boys, my American accent shining through. She immediately started shaking her head. "Those two goofballs? No. Do you have a girlfriend?"

I shook my head in response.

The rest of the ride was quiet.

. . .

 **(Sorting)**

Um… I think I should've asked Mom if I had to go through the sorting all over again. Maybe, because this is a new me, right? Ugh. That annoying hat is going to start criticizing me again.

I watched and half-heartedly cheered as new comers were placed in Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. When the professor called me up to the stool, I walked up with a little confidence and sat on the stool. The Sorting hat was placed on my head and I gave it a little greeting before it started.

"Hmm. I see, loyal to your friends, but not afraid to take leadership. You don't like the spotlight… keep to yourself… hmmm… yes. Yes, it is clear. GRYFFINDOR!" He made his final decision. Wow I really have changed. Last time, the stupid hat placed me in Slytherin.

I smiled as I saw Hermione and the rest of her table burst into cheers as they did for every other new member. I stood up, walked off the "stage" and sat down on the end of the table. After Professor Dumbledore went over the rules, roles of each house, and basic announcements, it was time to eat. I wasn't very hungry, as I always am not, and ate only some bread, chicken, and mashed potatoes. A lot of the girls looked, smiled, and waved at me, and I would just give a small smile back to any of them. I saw Ron attempt to glare at me when I smiled at another redhead who seemed to possibly be Ron's sister. Gee, this kid needs to lay off. I haven't even done anything to him and he's already glaring holes into the back of my head.

. . .

I quietly shooed Blackjack out the window as he carried my letter to Mom back home. The letter explained to her which house I've been assigned to, the friends I have made. Which right now is still zero. And how I am safely in bed right now.

The last part was the only lie in my letter.

I'm not exactly _in_ bed, but more like near my bed. Not really. Heh, not at all. I was in the common room, staring at the fire and listening to its soothing crackle. Everyone else was already asleep, but not I. I stayed awake thinking of my old life, and how perfect it was when I was with a girl I used to know. We were best friends, and were inseparable. I had given her half a seashell to show that no matter how apart we may be, we will always come together in times of need. The matching half is in my possession. As a matter of fact, I have it in my pocket, where it always is. I carry it around hoping one day I'll find her again. Who knows, maybe I've already run into my little princess and we just haven't recognized each other. It has been nine and a half years. I'm almost seventeen! She'll be fifteen in fifteen days. **(It's September 4** **th** **in this story.)** I'll be seventeen in ten days. I always used to tease her how I'm older than her by two years, and she would just stick her tongue out at me. I would act like I was going to bite it.

My head snapped up as I heard silent footsteps approaching. I looked up to the stairs that lead to the girls' dormitories and saw a very tired looking Hermione Granger.

"Can't sleep?"

"You could say that."

"Hm…" I turned back to the fire as she sat next to me. I offered her my red blanket and she politely and yet eagerly took it. I felt her shiver, and being the gentleman I am, I rubbed her shoulders to warm her up. Naturally, she leaned a little closer to me. Maybe she's a little too open with me, but I feel like I've known her all my life.

Maybe I have.

Or maybe she has.

I don't know, but I gave her my blanket, rubbed her shoulders and arms, massaged behind her neck a little, and let herself warm up. "Jesus Hermione, why were you freezing like that?" I asked, my voice laced with concern.

"I um," she shifted, uncomfortably. My side felt cold for some reason. "I had an unpleasant dream. Why are you awake so late?"

"Can't sleep," I shrugged, lying skillfully. She narrowed her eyes at me but said nothing. She snuggled up closer to the couch, unintentionally curling up a little into my side. "It is cold tonight, isn't it?" She asked. I nodded my head. I felt at peace, with a blanket being shared between Hermione and I, the soft crackling of the fire, and the peaceful darkness of the common room, I was lulled into a deep sleep.

. . .

"Hermione!" A slightly high-pitched voice screeched.

I slowly woke up, stretching my arms over my head. I yawned and felt a hand spread on my chest and push. Hm, I internally shrugged, maybe someone is just pushing themselves up. My eyes slowly opened. Someone?

"What do you think you're doing? He could be a Death—" I felt the pressure on my side lessen dramatically, and the person who woke me up was silenced. I looked over to where the action was happening, and found Hermione with a black tank top and pajama pants covering Ron's mouth. She mouthed 'Sorry' to me and immediately started to reprimand Ron.

When he walked upstairs, she finally turned around to face me. She looked like she wanted to say sorry, but also did not want to say it at the same time. When she opened her mouth, I shook my head. "It's okay. Your friend is just worried 'bout you, is all," she nodded her head and looked down at her feet. "Here you go," she said thrusting the blanket towards me. "It's your blanket."

I stepped back, waving my hands in front of me. "No, no," I smiled. "You can keep it. It's warm, you should have it." I don't know why I just finished giving her _my father's_ blanket, but I did, and I can't take it back. But I can trust her with it, can't I?

She looked back up at me, with a small blush in her cheeks, and started to protest. "It's fine," I laughed, she turned even more red. I grabbed her shoulders and smiled at her before turning her around and pushing her up the stairs, "C'mon. Go get ready, breakfast will be ready soon."

While she was walking up the stairs, I stayed at the bottom, watching her. On the fifth the step, she turned around and pointed at the red blanket. "Thank you," she said, turning around and sprinting up the steps.

I walked up the boy's set of stairs, and at the top, hesitated before grabbing the knob and opening the door.

"—cuddling on the couch with Hermione! _Hermione!_ How does she even know him, hm? I'm telling you Harry, he's got to be with he-who—"

"Who're we talkin' about?" I cut Ron off. He jumped up. "Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, holding his chest. I walked to my trunk and started to grab my uniform. I looked up at Harry expectantly as I folded my robe to fit on my arm. "Hm?"

Harry sat on his bed and looked at his hands shamefully. "Uh… nothing important. Just a _theory_ Ron has come up with."

I looked at him, and then shrugged, pulling my shoulders up and letting them drop. "Okay," I said, and headed into the showers.

. . .

At breakfast, Hermione invited me over to sit next to her and her friends. I saw them try to protest, but she hissed something at them that made them silent. I walked over to Hermione. "Is it really okay? I don't want to intrude."

"Yeah, no. It's fine. You can sit here. These two gits don't know what they're talking about," she faced the two boys at the end, daring them to protest. They stayed silent.

"Okay," I smiled, and sat next to Hermione.

"So, _Percy,_ what year are you in?"

"Sixth."

"How if you're only… how old?"

"I'll be seventeen in ten days."

Hermione stared at me, eyes narrowed as if she were trying to remember something.

"How old did you say you are?"

"Well, I'm sixteen. My birthday is in ten days. Why when's yours?"

"I'm fourteen. My birthday is in _fifteen_ days," she challenged. We looked at each other for a few minutes, clearly suspicious of one another, before Ron cleared his throat.

"Favorite color?"

"Blue. Yours?"

"Violet. Family symbol?"

"Trident."

"Favorite pass time?"

"Swimming or spending time with friends."

"When did you say you left London?"

"When I was se—"

"Do you two know each other?" Harry asked.

We both looked at each other an blushed, before turning away. "You can say that," I said.

"How did you two meet?"

I felt like saying how my childhood best friend and I met, when I realized something. There's only one definite way to tell this is the Hermione I met when I was four.

The seashell.

I looked at Hermione and I could tell she was thinking of something among the same lines.

"That," I grinned at them, "is a story I believe shall be told some other time. Let's eat."

 **. . .**

 **So? What did you guys think? Aaaaawwweeee noooooo. I think I may have ruined Harry Potter for all those HP fans! I'm so sorry! But guess what, I'm going to post this chapter, close my laptop, and start reading Harry Potter books and watching Harry Potter movies. I'm going to mix in facts and stuff from both to make it reasonable.**

 **Like it? Hate it? Don't want me to continue? Please review!**

 **P.S. I'm going to update this story at random times, so you never know when the next chapter will be out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Dinner)**

"I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—"

Just as Professor Dumbledore had gotten our attention and started to explain what he had a "great pleasure in announcing," there was a sound of the rumbling of thunder. Students started to panic, looking back and forth for the cause of the thunder, and all turned around when the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man with a beige traveling cloak entered, limping and leaning on his staff. There was an echoing _clank_ heard throughout the room with every other step he took. Some students in the crowd gasped as others whispered, asking who the man was. "Mad Eye Moody," Ron and I both said at the same time. "You know Mad Eye Moody?" We again, said at the same time. Hermione looked like she was stuck between looking horrified that Ron and I were having the same thoughts, and asking about Mad Eye Moody. "Of course I know him, we used to work together." I said vaguely. Mad Eye Moody and I worked together on some cases to send some very nasty people to Azkaban.

"Mad Eye Moody?" Hermione asked, facing me. I nodded.

Lightning again flashed across the sky. A lot of students screamed and jumped.

" _You_ worked with _Mad Eye Moody?_ You expect us to believe that bloody lie?" Ron scoffed.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. Moody was already walking up to Professor Dumbledore, pulling out his wand and with an outstretched scarred arm, he pointed at the ceiling and said an incantation.

The thunder stopped.

He and Dumbledore shook hands as they both muttered something to each other. "I'll explain who Moody is later, Hermione," I leaned into her ear and whispered. I felt her nod her head.

"May I introduce to you, our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody!" Usually, when a new professor is being introduced, everyone applauds. This time, it was only Dumbledore, Hagrid (whom I have yet to reunite with), and I who clapped. But our efforts were drowned in the silence of the hall. We stopped.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, I have great pleasure in announcing that this year, Hogwarts will have the honor of hosting a very exciting event of the coming months," everyone leaned forward in their seats, "an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." Everyone cheered and hoorayed. I smiled brightly and chuckled a little while clapping my hands. Professor Dumbledore went on to explain the origins of the tournament, and why it had been ignored for the past century. I leaned forward and a little down, still smiling, and whispered into Hermione's ear, "This should be a great game. Everyone is going to try and be the best to win all glory and bragging rights of being Triwizard Tournament champion. What they don't realize is that this year, the schools and organizations are being extra careful to make this year's competition less deadly. Which means…" she turned her head to face me, and I looked at her and grinned. "Which means, this year will be nothing compared to the last tournament," she smiled and finished for me. I nodded my head, and sat straight, only to catch Ron glaring daggers at me, and his eyes continuously dropping to my arm. I then realized, I had never pulled the sleeves to my shirt back down.

I did so then.

"Eager though I know all of you will be able to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an agreed restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age—that is to say, seventeen years or older—will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below Sixth and Seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion," He paused to sweep his eyes over the crowd. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen," there were cries of outrage, and two boys sitting next to Ron who seemed to be twins, cried and shouted that this was _"Rubbish!"_ and other things like that. "Who're those two?" I asked Hermione. She looked over her shoulder to look at the two boys I was just observing. "Fred and George Weasley. Ron's older brothers."

"Oh."

"And now, off to bed!"

The Triwizard Tournament will officially start in late October, that is when the champions will be selected.

. . .

"Hey, Hermione!" I caught up to her in the halls back to Gryffindor Tower. "Yes?"

"Mad Eye Moody is a man who used to—"

"Hermione!" Ron, who was walking with Harry ahead of us, hissed. "What?!"

"Are you walking with us or not?" He asked, turning around.

"We're all going to the same place Ronald."

"Yeah but, are you walking with your friends or Perseus? So that way we know whether to continue walking on without you or save you from the torture of talking to, _him_ ," he nodded his head towards me.

Hermione groaned at Ron's antics and turned to me. "It's alright. They had you first, I can't just waltz in here and take you away from them. Besides he's right, who would walk with a stranger when they can walk with their friends? Best friends at that? Just go, and if you still wanna talk later then meet me in the common room when everyone is asleep." I whispered the last part in her ear, leaning down since I was five inches taller than her. Her at 5'5 and me at 6'0. She nodded her head and ran forward, not even bothering to stop when she passed Harry and Ron. The two boys looked at each other before running to catch up with the enraged girl. I smirked to myself and casually walked, my hands in my pockets.

 **(Oh. So Ron is feeling some competition isn't he?)**

. . .

"…and it doesn't mean you get to disrespect someone, Ronald! What do you think you're doing? I didn't know I can't make other friends unless 'you approve'. That's rubbish." I heard Hermione yell. I entered and saw Ron take a step forward toward Hermione, and she stepped back. "Hermione listen, Percy is a Death Eater. Don't let his charm blind you!" He tried to grab her elbow, but she swung it away. When he tried again and successfully grabbed it, he leaned closer, his voice dark and deep. "And to think you're the smart one in the group. You can't tell the difference between a pretty boy and a bloody enemy!"

"That's enough," I growled and stepped between them, pushing Ron back.

"You can torture me with your petty words all you want, but you never disrespect a woman. You hear that, Ron? Never. I don't care if it's for the right reasons, that is simply something you do not do. Go cool off." Ron glared at me, his jaw set and his eyes fired up. He pulled his vest down and walked up the steps to the boys room.

"Did he hurt you?" I turned around and asked.

"No. And I can take care of myself."

"A thank you would've been nice. And I know you can, but I can't stand here and watch him do that. I had to step in. What type of boy would I be if I didn't stop him from disrespecting you like that?" She seemed to think about it, and muttered something about a boy's pride and hmphed before siting on the couch, looking at the fire. I sat down next to her, making sure to leave a gap between us.

"Hey, why does Ron think I'm a Death Eater?"

"He claims you have their tattoo. He hasn't seen the whole thing yet, but he keeps on saying 'what type of bloody sixteen year old wizard has a tattoo?' And rubbish like that. That git doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh," I said. She turned to face me. "Is it true? Do you have a tattoo?"

"Well," I shifted uncomfortably. "I do have a tattoo. And it sort of ties in with the Death Eaters," I saw her start to grab her wand. "But I'm not a Death Eater. No, I hate those guys. They killed my father. I used to be part of, I guess what you can call a mercenary group, but we didn't kill unless we had to. This," I rolled up my sleeve and showed my SPQR tattoo to her, "is evidence of service. Each line shows one year of service, I've been with them for four years. I worked with my father to get wizards on the 'Most Wanted' list in Azkaban. One time, we were going for our third Death Eater when we were surrounded by Dementors, Death Eaters, regular wizards, and mythological creatures. Voldemort himself, came and observed the fight and even fought me when he saw me at my weakest point. My father was killed, and I was left to ward them off by myself. When I realized that I wasn't going to win, I took my father's body and fled. I was immediately discharged by the group due to being emotionally unstable, and Dumbledore took the chance to invite me to Hogwarts. Because I have been here before, I immediately accepted. Dumbledore is the one who taught me everything I know of magic. My father and him used to be colleagues until Poseidon, my father, decided to join the group. Most young wizards, schools, the Ministry of Magic, and other organizations know of my work, but I tend to keep to myself. I don't like attention," I finished my story. She set her wand back in her robe and hugged me, her arms around my neck and her face in my shoulder. **(I know, I know,** SPQR **is for the Romans, Hero! Well, this is a fan** fiction **story, and I really couldn't think of anything else. So please do not leave a review telling me that this is all wrong)**

"I'm sorry to hear that. Sorry for Ron accusing you of being a Death Eater." I patted her back.

"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry for others' actions. You don't have to worry about what other people think and do. That burden, was left to my father and I. I and I alone carry the burden of making sure everyone is okay and unharmed." She nodded her head and pulled away, sitting in her seat once again.

"What is it like?"

"What is what like?"

"Working with Mad Eye Moody."

"Oh. He's a good man. He used to be an Auror. He's not really 'mad' but more like misunderstood. Can you imagine being lonely and the only company you got was the criminals you send to Azkaban?"

She nodded her head, but kept her eyes on me.

"Yeah, I regret going to the states." I said.

She tilted her head to the side. "Why is that?"

"Because I had to leave such a wonderful girl behind. I bet right now, she's turned into an intelligent, beautiful, young woman, who has probably forgotten about me." I said, not realizing I was actually describing Hermione.

Hermione looked down at her hands. I saw the side of her mouth stretch to her ear, showing she was smiling brightly. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked up at me. "In case she did forget you, then that means that she isn't worth the regret you hold. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. But I can only assure you one thing, if you were the way you are now, then she has not forgotten you. I bet, she sits down everyday and thinks of you." I smiled at her and hugged her. "Thanks Hermione. It's great to talk to you."

"Off to bed. There are, after all, classes tomorrow."

. . .

"…the Unforgivable Curses," Professor Moody wrote on the board as well as saying it aloud. "Who can tell me one of them?"

I raised my hand. "Mr. Jackson?"

"There's the Imperius Curse."

"Ah, yes. The Ministry of Magic had a crisis with that one not too long ago. The Imperius Curse, gives the wizard or witch total control over the subject it's being used on." I watched as he pulled out a spider-looking creature and cast the spell, incanting _Imperio_ and forcing the poor thing to swing across the room, onto people's heads, books, robes. Everyone laughed, I didn't. This isn't a joke. People _kill_ thanks to this curse.

"Where should she go next? Out the window?" Students silenced themselves as the spider nearly crashed into the window. "Drown herself?" Over a pot.

"This curse, is not a toy ladies and gentlemen. There is a reason why it is one of the Unforgivable Curses. What is the next one?" Everyone stayed silent. He faced another boy. "T-the Cruciatus Curse, sir."

"Yes, yes. The curse of excruciating pain and torment." He set the spider down on a book. _"Crucio,"_ he said, pointing his crooked wand at the creature. It started screeching in pain, and turned over, attempting to curl up into a ball. I closed my eyes, trying to not think of the last time I saw and felt that curse at its finest work.

"That's enough," I growled, no longer being able to bear it. The screaming stopped. Moody looked at me, and placed it on my desk, asking me for the last curse.

"The Killing Curse," I supplied. He nodded his head.

" _Avada Kedavra,"_ instantaneously, there was a flash of light and the spider flipped over to its back. It was dead. "The Killing Curse requires a large source of magic behind it. I bet you can all stand up, point your wands at me, but I won't get so much as a nosebleed. Dismissed," on the last part, he faced me, as if challenging me. I closed my book after wiping off the dead spider, and stood, leaving without even the sound of my footsteps.

. . .

"Hermione are you okay? I heard what happened with Moody today," I said, turning Hermione around so she can face me. She held her chin up high. "I'm fine. Although Neville probably isn't."

"Neville? You mean the kid who sits with you guys and is obsessed with herbology?"

"Yes. Moody tortured the spider right in front of him. The horror he put Neville through! Unbelievable! It should be against the rules!" She started to rage. I raced to catch up with her as she stormed down the stairs.

"Hermione, Hermione calm down. Look, if it makes you feel better… I'll—I'll be willing to talk to Moody. Uh, get him to see that he's harming students in a way he wouldn't understand. Okay?"

"No. I couldn't ask that of you. Everyone seems to be horrified of the man."

"But look how much he's upset you. No, I'm going to talk to him, alright? Just don't fret over this anymore," I grabbed her hand so she could stop and look at me as I said those words. She sighed, but nodded her head nonetheless. I smiled.

"You know," I said, starting to walk down the stairs. I had forgotten I was holding her hand, "Moody's been acting a little… _off_. I mean, I know he's 'Mad Eye Moody' but I'm pretty sure Moody would recognize an old partner if he saw them," I looked behind her to see her looking at her hand. I dropped my eyes down to see our hands were still intertwined. "Oh," I said, realizing my mistake. "Sorry," I pulled my hand away from hers and rubbed the back of my neck. I heard a weak, _"It's okay."_ I cleared my throat.

"As I was saying… I'm also going to speak to Professor Moody. I think there's something going on, and it's happening right under our very noses."

"Why is that?"

"Because today, it seemed like he wanted to pull out his wand… and point it at me."

"You must tell Professor Dumbledore, Percy! What if he did do what you say he wanted to?"

I shrugged. "There's a high chance I'd still be alive right now, or is it dead? I don't know how many times one could withstand the Killing Curse."

She looked at me, I mean _really_ looked at me, studying me as if she were trying to find something on me she didn't see before. "Percy… no one can withstand the Killing Curse. There's a reason why 'killing' is in the name of the curse."

"I meant, uh… never mind. Forget I said anything about a curse. Anything at all."

"Percy—"

"Hermione if you knew what's best for you, you'd forget about anything I have _ever_ told you," I said, not facing her. I had my jaw locked, my eyes felt watery but on fire at the same time.

I headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Hey Blackjack," I said as I watched my owl fly into the room. It held a letter in its mouth.

Good thing Mum uses water proof envelopes.

" _Dear Percy,_

 _I am glad to hear how good your experiences in Hogwarts has been. Business with the shop is also well. The baby is fine. In fact, I have a doctor's appointment this evening. I hear this year your school is hosting the Triwizard Tournament? That's lovely! If you decide to participate, please be very careful. Those events are made to kill, not to give._

— _Hoping to hear from you soon, Mum._

 _P.S. I wonder if your accent is popping in too?"_

I laughed at the little humor she added in with the letter. I rolled up the piece of paper, and set it into a small flame before starting to write my own letter.

. . .

 **(Three weeks later— Dumbledore has already introduced the schools to the students of Hogwarts, and now this is after Professor McGonagall teaches them how to dance. Sorry if timing is a little off.)**

I stood, staring at the huge cup with blue fire. _Should I?_

I took a look over Hermione. She wasn't paying attention, she was reading.

 _Should I not?_

I began to think about what Mum told me. I shook my head.

 _I shouldn't._

I lowered my closed hand, and began to walk over to Hermione, who was still not paying attention. I was in deep thought, watching as kids from Hogwarts and other schools entered their names. I watched as everyone clapped, and then the child would go and be patted on the back by their group of friends.

"…going to work," I heard Hermione say in a sing-song voice. I looked over to her to see her explaining to the Weasley twins why an aging potion will not work. They looked at her, challenging her, took the potions, and stepped in. Hermione and I looked at each other before looking back at the twins.

The fire started to rise, and all the sudden I felt a wave of magic push the twins all the way to the other end of the room. They looked at each other, and screamed as they found older versions of themselves. Everyone laughed as the twins began to fight.

Then, one side of the room became silent.

Krum came in, marching with all his pride, stepped forward, and placed his name in the goblet as if he does it everyday. On his way of turning back, he looked over at Hermione, who seemed to make eye contact with him.

Beside me, my hand turned into a fist and my jaw locked into place.

And then I looked over at Hermione again, and my body loosened before tightening up again when I realized she was watching him walk out.

 _Should I?_

Maybe Hermione will notice me when I do.

 _Should I not?_

If I don't… that bastard will win her over.

 _Should I?_

Hermione seems to like brave ones.

 _Should I not?_

I can get killed.

But if it's for Hermione, it's worth it.

 _Should I?_

Yes. Yes I should.

And my final decision was made.

 **. . .**

 **Ooooh. Well, there's a little of Percy's background for you. And I believe the story is developing as it should be. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! So I've been thinking, do you remember how I said he (he = Percy) was attacked by creatures and wizards and stuff about a year back with his father? So what if he got attacked by a werewolf? Do you think I should make him a werewolf? Please leave a review on what you think about it. SHOULD PERCY BE A WEREWOLF OR NOT?**

 _Dear Mum,_

 _Hi, how's it been? As promised, I am writing to you every three days. I've decided to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Just to see if I haven't lost my touch. Glad to hear the baby is fine. How did the doctor's appointment go? Is she developing well? How are your friends? Oh, I forgot to tell you that I sent a letter to the restaurant with a few Sickles, placing an order of your favorite pasta. Manitcotti. Hope you enjoy!_

 _Sorry if this letter is short, Blackjack decided to fly in and knock over my ink because we didn't agree on something._

 _-Love, your "Baby Boy," Percy Jackson._

"Who are you writing to?"

I jumped up in my seat and shoved the letter into my pocket.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Ron took a step forward, "you heard me. I said, 'Who are you writing to?'"

"Em," I pursed my lips, "no one important." I stood up and walked to him, "Don't worry about it, mate. I'm not reporting to anyone," I chuckled. He shrugged my hand off as soon as I went to pat him on the shoulder. He scowled and made a move towards his bed. He angrily snatched things from his trunk, and scowling at me once again, he pushed past me and left. What's up with this kid and his mood swings?

Once he left, I placed my letter in an envelope, stamped it, and handed it to Blackjack.

"To Mum."

. . .

On our way to the other side of Hogwarts, Hermione and I decided to take a nice stroll on the bridge. We stopped in the middle and watched as things unfolded on the ground as we talked. I continuously trying to make her laugh. We laughed as girls pinned over Krum. I rolled my eyes, _as usual._ We continued strolling down the bridge. "Uh, hey, Hermione?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck with uncertainty.

"Yes?"

"Well—I was—I was wondering… uh… ahem, would you allow me the honor of, taking you to the ball? As my 'Plus One?'"

We stopped and she turned to look at me, she gave me her answer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

. . .

"It is time, for the moment, you have all been waiting for," Professor Dumbledore took his place on the pedestal to announce the Triwizard Champions. He went forward with the process of explaining to us that once we have been chosen, there is no going back.

Students, with fascination written all over their faces turned in their seats as Dumbledore walked up the steps, pulling his robes up just a bit to prevent any tripping accidents. At first, the blue flames in the goblet intensified as Dumbledore stood, waiting for the first selection. To build up the anticipation, the flames turned red, and grew, going up, higher and higher, and everyone was at the edge of their seats. Suddenly, a single piece of paper was spat out of the fire, slowly fluttering down into Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

"The first Champion selected, is... Viktor Krum from Durmstrang!" Wizards from Durmstrang all smiled brightly and praised Victor as he stood up, absorbed the attention and praise, and walked up to Dumbledore to shake his hand after receiving a pat on the back and a curt nod from his Headmaster. We all turned our attention back to the goblet as its flames once again began to intensify and turn red. A second sheet of paper, folded neatly, was spat out, and flowingly settled into Dumbledore's hand. He looked up at the students with a smile on his face.

"The second Champion that has been chosen is, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons!" He said, adding a bit of humor by saying it with a small accent. Only those who were paying close attention would've noticed. Fleur, in all her beauty walked up to Dumbledore. Hermione rolled her eyes as she turned to see Ron marveling at Fleur, just like the other boys—both taken and available. I chuckled to myself and turned back to where all the commotion with the goblet was happening. When the paper landed in his hand, he took a moment to read it.

He looked up and straight into my eyes. "The final Champion chosen to represent Hogwarts is, Perseus Jackson."

The smile on Hermione's face died almost simultaneously as Dumbledore said those words. "What?" She said, turning to me. "That can't be right. I thought you said you weren't going to enter?" I shook my head and gave her hand a small squeeze before standing up and walking to Dumbledore. I shook his hand as he leaned in close to my ear. "I hope you know what you're doing, my boy," he said. "I would hate to have to see your mother if things end badly. Good luck." I nodded my head and stepped back, looking at Hermione who seemed to have become worried in less than five seconds.

"It is settled, the three students you see before you are this years' Triwizard Tournament's Champions! The first trial shall take place—" the flames in the goblet started to go haywire, as if being forced to do something it does not want to. I could sense a strong surge of magic be casted within the room, and I immediately start to scan the Great Hall's occupants. Everyone's eyes seemed concentrated on the flames, and for barely half a second, I saw Moody's eyes flicker to Harry.

A fourth paper floated into Dumbledore's hand, and he seemed awestruck. He read the paper a million times over to himself before looking up into the crowd and sweeping his eyes around the hall.

"Harry Potter," his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Harry Potter!" He said, louder this time. I watched as Hermione pushed Harry towards me. She gave me a familiar look, as if she were asking for a favor.

I understood, and nodded my head so that only she can see. She let go a sigh of relief and mouthed 'Thank you,' to me. Beside me, my hands turned into fists. Who dare risk the life of a fourteen year old, and then make my friend uncomfortable. Harry stood beside me. If she asked for it, I would give Hermione the world.

But for now, I'll stick to what she really wants me to do, and I shall give my life to complete it if need be. She wants something done, I'll do it for her. And right now, she wants me to protect Harry Potter from the dangers of this tournament. Her wish is my command.

. . .

Before Harry could get out of my reach as he walked down the hall and into the Gryffindor Tower, I roughly pinned him against the wall by his shoulder, showing him I meant business.

"It's just a yes or no and I'll believe you," I said, my voice deep but low. He gulped loudly. "Did you place your name in the Cup?'

"No," he shook his head. I let go of his shoulder. "Good, that makes everything easier. Now go to Dumbledore."

"How did you..."

"Know? I've been here longer than you," I shrugged. "I know him better." He glared at me, but said nothing, accepting the truth. When he was out of sight, I sighed to myself. _Poor kid, he's probably not going to live to see next year._

"I'm sorry, I should've told you." I said, without turning around. Hermione sighed and walked out of the shadow behind me as I turned around to face her. "You should have. What were you thinking?" _That you would find it attractive?_

"I wasn't thinking of a what," I said cooly.

She stepped closer. "This is about what happened on the bridge, isn't it? Percy that doesn't mean you have to go, _killing_ yourself just because of some stupid turn down!"

"I understand, Hermione!" I lost my cool. "Don't you get it? I understand that I'm not as wanted as Viktor, alright, I get it. I—I understand that you don't feel the same way I feel about you. I get it. You don't always get what you want, I know that already. You don't have to bring up what happened on the bridge, and you don't have to act like you're my friend, okay? It may seem like I'm lonely, and congrats on you for seeing that! But guess what, I'm used to being alone. So go ahead, I know you want to leave, act like we never met, and go back to your dandy life of secretly crushing on Ron. And yes, I noticed. I'm the only one who has. And if I'm going to be honest with myself and with you, I'd rather have to be killed then have to go through the torment of knowing this again. But don't you ever, _ever,_ call it some 'stupid turn down,' because you're the first person I've opened myself up to since my father was killed. Now I realize that that was a mistake," I growled and turned, walking into the dark and outside the school, into the night. I heard her groan in frustration and stomp back to the common room, and probably into her bed.

. . .

I sat angrily on the sand and sighed through my nose. Why did I say all that?

 _Because it was and is the truth._

No it's not. Opening up to her wasn't a mistake. I haven't felt like that in forever. I looked up at the half moon, and started fiddling with my shark tooth necklace. I dragged my hands down my face. "What should I do?"

 _Stay true to her, and stay strong. She'll see how you feel._

But I practically just finished telling her to stay out of my life.

 _Well then show her you want to do the opposite._

How? "Oh, Merlin," I groaned, my old habits of being a wizard shining through. "Great, I'm talking to myself. How wonderful."

. . .

I knocked on the room Hermione stays in. Ginny opened the door, and when she saw me, she tried to close the door in my face. With my quick reflexes, I shoved my shoe between the doorway and the big wooden door. Ow.

"Listen, I _need_ to have a quick word with Hermione. Please. I didn't mean a certain part I said."

She still refused to let me in, and I sighed and let her close the door. I sank down on the floor, my back against the door. "Hermione," I said, still not giving up. "Hermione, I know you don't want to talk to me but—with the risk of sounding grossly cliché—just, just listen to me, please.

"I'm sorry for dumping all that on you. It wasn't right, and it's not fair, I know. I guess I just got... upset?" I silently cursed myself for sounding questioning. "My mind was still stuck on what happened at the bridge, and I guess I was wondering why you said no. I regret saying that opening up to you was a mistake, because it was the exact opposite. It felt like such a rush, a new adventure; it felt like an addiction.

"You know when people tell you that once you're hooked, there's no going back? Well that's how I feel whenever I'm with you, and don't ask me why, heh, cause I'm still working the answer out myself. Is it bad I compared you to a drug? Drugs kill you, but ever since I met you, I've been drowning in all these emotions. But you're also what keeps me from 'drowning' drowning.

"These past few months are the best I've had in a _long_ time. I'm sorry about freaking out when you told me that you already said yes to someone else, I guess that I just got upset with myself for waiting for so long. I should've known that a beautiful girl like you would've been asked already. I know you enough to know that you wouldn't say yes to anyone, so let's face it, even if the lucky guy didn't ask you when he did, you still would have said no to me," I pulled my leg closer to my chest as the other stretched out to reach the other end of the narrow corridor. I sighed, "I probably haven't said this enough times, but I truly am sorry for making you upset. I don't _ever_ want to be the source of your discomfort—" I scooted aside as a girl smiled sympathetically at me and entered the room. The room was completely silent. "—pain, sadness, or anything like that. I want to be the person that makes you smile, feel comfortable. I want to be the one who takes your pain away, distracts you from anything you want to be distracted from. I want to be the one you run to when you just—want to be held in someone's arms. This is a lot, and I mean a lot, because we've only known each other for a few months, but when I'm with you... _I swear,_ we've known each other all our lives. And I want to continue knowing each other. I want to see you smile, hear you laugh...

"Just please," I shifted onto my knees, "I ask you, on my knees, for forgiveness. For another chance. Please," I rested my forehead on the door. I heard a variation of voices whispering, but none that I wanted to hear. Hermione remained silent. I silently banged my head against the door one time, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I truly am." I stood up, and left, not wanting Hermione to feel forced to confront me.

. . .

Walking into the common room with just a plain white tee, basketball shorts, and bare feet (with the exception of my leather anklet), I sat on the couch and began to reflect on my actions of today. Almost an hour later, I felt myself begin to doze off.

 _Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot—_

"Were you a surfer in the States?" Came a voice from the stairway, a voice I've been trying to get to forgive me.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. Hermione sat on the couch, facing me. One bare leg folded neatly under the other that hung off the edge of the couch. "Your ankle," she nodded towards the said part of my foot, "were you a surfer in America?"

"Um, yeah. I used to swim, surf, a lot of water sports," I hate to admit it but, I couldn't stop looking at her leg. The black shorts complement her light skin tone perfectly, her smooth skin catching my eye. Why was she having such an effect on me?

"Did you mean it? What you said upstairs, I mean."

"Of the apology? Yeah. I meant it all."

I looked at her bare, alluring (for some strange reason), neck as she swallowed, or gulped, whatever. She nodded her head, mostly to herself, and looked at me.

"Would you believe me if I told you the only reason why I said yes was because I thought you'd never ask?"

"Surprisingly, yes. But no, because you wouldn't say yes just because you believed something."

"You're right. I said yes because he was actually the first to ask me, and I didn't want to attend the ball alone."

"I guess it makes sense."

"But I also said yes because I didn't think you were going to ask me. When you did… I felt _so_ guilty."

I nodded my head in understanding and tried to rip my eyes off her smooth skin, and focused on her eyes. "Does your mum know?"

"About the tournament? No. I haven't told her. I just told her that I was going to put my name in for consideration. Nothing else. I have to tell her tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. I don't feel like waking up tomorrow to a million letters." It feels weird to talk to her after I've already told her how I feel. She seemed to notice my awkwardness, and cleared her throat. We locked eye contact, and I felt myself being drawn to her. I leaned in, and let my gaze drop to her lips, which were slightly parted as she noticed where my eyes were focused. Damn teenage hormones. Damn it, I've got to stop thinking what I'm secretly thinking of. I blame this on the _damn teenage hormones._ I want to claim her lips, touch her neck, run my fingers through her luscious hair, feel her skin.

I leaned in even closer so that our lips were an inch apart. My head tilted to the side, and my shark tooth dangled between us. Her hand flew up to hover beside my neck, prepared to set on my neck once our lips connect.

"Hermione…"

"Hm?"

"You could always say no." I leaned in even closer. She didn't say anything in protest. I saw her eyes slowly close as she looked at my lips, and I closed the distance.

At first, I just pressed my lips against hers in a small, sweet kiss multiple times. But slowly, the little spark within me was being manipulated into a blazing fire, feeding on my want and need. I think Hermione felt the same way, because she pressed her hand harder against my neck, pulling me closer, forcing me to push our lips together with more force. I guess she was letting her hormones kick in too. I rested my hand on the back of her neck, and silently, with my lips, _begged_ for more. Our kissing intensified, and I could only think of one thing: _more._

This is wrong. She's going to the ball with Krum. She's probably doing this out of sympathy. So then why does it feel so right? Why doesn't it feel like she's doing this for charity then? I could _feel_ our emotions, her breath tickle my neck, her fingers get entangled within my short hair, her bottom lip lightly brush with my chin as she opens her mouth and closes it. I could feel my breath pound against my arm, which means it's probably hitting her neck too. The hand behind her neck trailed down to her hip as I pulled her closer and met her halfway. This is wrong, we shouldn't be doing this. She doesn't even _feel_ the same way I do. Could this be considered rape if she doesn't want to do this? But it's just kissing… No. I shouldn't be forcing her just because I want to be selfish for once. I pulled away.

"Hermione, I'm sorry—"

"You've already said that."

"I know but I'm forcing you into this, aren't I?"

"No, you're not. Trust me, you would've been on the floor, in pain, if you were forcing me into anything."

"But you're with Krum, aren't you? I mean you two _are_ going to the ball together. As each other's 'Plus One.'"

"That's where the 'equation' ends. It's just a ball, Percy."

I sat up to look at her, before removing my hand from her hip.

"It's not just a ball. Next, he's going to want to go on dates, and more and more dates, because he's already gotten one yes, and for a guy like him I'm pretty sure all he's gotten is yes's, so he's going to want more and more. And so are you, because… even if you don't admit it you _do_ feel attracted to him in some way." She looked down at her lap shamefully.

"I don't hate you for it. Besides," I shrugged, "we've only known each other for what, three months? Me asking you to the ball was way out of the park."

"But I've barely even _talked_ to Krum and I'm going to the ball with him."

Oh. Right. "Don't feel bad. He asked you first, and even though I hate to admit this, he's got more gut than I ever will. He waited, how long? And I waited a whole month to ask you. It's alright though. Now go, I bet Ginny and the others are just _waiting_ to hear about this." We both got up and walked up the stairs, and I watched as she entered her room before I entered mine.

"…piss off," I heard Ron grumble as he pulled his sheets tighter against him. I changed into a white tank and shook my head as I lazily spread myself on my bed. My leg hung off the side and my arms folded behind me head. During my first days here, I had bewitched the piece of ceiling that covered my bed to look like the night sky. I thought it would be nice and helpful to distract me from things, but when I look at it I can only help but think of Hermione Granger.

 _The kiss._ Did she want it to happen? I mean, she did interact too. But maybe it was because she was thinking of someone else. Am I her first kiss? Was the kiss horrible to her? Forget about how she felt about it, did she not _want_ her first kiss to be me, or did not want it at all? I'm pretty sure she thought her first kiss would be romantic, with someone she _knows,_ and not be lust but from love. What is it they say, you never forget your first kiss/love? Awe man, I'm going to haunt her forever like some unwanted plague. Damn it. She probably wants me to stay as far away from her as possible.

I felt my heart sink to my toes. _As far away from her as possible?_ I can't do that. Just being down the hall from her is impossible for me. She's like some magnet I can't shake away from.

I shook my head. I have to steer these thoughts away from her. If I don't, Merlin knows what I'll do next. The ball. The ball is in two months, have I decided on what I am going to wear? Who I am going with? The last question is easy: No one. Not if the person isn't Hermione. I'll only go with Hermione because I want to go with Hermione and Hermione is the only girl I know, besides Ginny. But I hear she's already been asked. Good for her.

. . .

 **(Ball—Christmas)**

I sighed a little angrily to myself and drank some more punch. I looked at Professor McGonagall and shook my head again. "Look, let's try to keep this as close to tradition as possible, okay?"

"Let's, and tradition says that the three champions shall be the first to dance with their partner."

"You've already got Harry. He has a partner, so go and find him. Sorry if I sound rude."

To the ball, I decided to wear a white button-up shirt, a black vest, black formal pants, a tie, and a simple, 1 inch wide, black band right over my right elbow. My shoes were straight and flat at the tip of my toes, but black and glossy. For some fun, I put on a black fedora and a mask that goes around my eyes like the mask of a raccoon.

"And you, Mr. Jackson, do not have a partner, I suppose? Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Yes. Besides, I'm sure Potter is more than enough to act as Champion for one night."

Professor McGonagall nodded her head. She walked off with a bit of rage showing in her step. Shaking my head, I took another sip of my punch. _I would've had a date, had I not waited so long to ask._ It's called being a coward, idiot. I looked up and nearly dropped my cup as I saw Hermione at the top of the stairs. She's beautiful.

Her hair was in an elegant bun, but a few strands on the side of her face were curled, and left to fall on her shoulders as that of a princess's curls would. She wore a simple, yet elegant—magenta perhaps?—dress that hugged her perfectly. The shade of purple perfectly complemented her skin. A darker shade of purple ribbon was tied into a bow around her waist. Her back was bare, and so were her arms. Her legs and shoes were covered by the dress. It revealed so much and yet so little of that smooth, perfect, light skin of hers. I smiled as I heard people gasp and comment on her beauty. I almost laughed as I saw Ron, in whatever that is, glare at Hermione murderously. She started to walk down the steps.

"Should've asked her first, mate." I whispered to him before walking to the chairs and taking a seat. I almost broke my cup when she smiled at Viktor as he escorted her across the ballroom.

"Who is that guy? And this isn't some bloody masquerade," I heard Ron grumble.

I stood up, and began searching for Professor Dumbledore.

. . .

"Professor Dumbledore! Thank Merlin I found you."

Albus Dumbledore turned around to face me. "Ah, Perseus, my boy. I hear you're having some trouble with finding a partner?"

"Was," I corrected, "we're already at the ball. I was wondering if I could be pardoned from the 'Champion-partner' dance? I know I was chosen as the original representative of Hogwarts, and that Harry is someone that was chosen, but he has a partner, and you can tell everyone I went home for the day, I don't know. I mean, no one knows I'm... _me._ I'm wearing a mask and a fedora, I could literally be anyone from any of the participating schools. Please?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry Percy, but there is nothing I can do. You must dance because it is tradition, and that is final. Now, I am truly sorry young man, but I suggest you start finding a partner to dance with. As you've so kindly stated, no one knows who you are," he smiled a little mysteriously at the end, and then he walked off.

No one knows who I am? What does that have to do with anything? I wish he could for once give me a straight up answer instead of a riddle.

I walked into a random direction, more towards the middle, and walked between the crowds. The Yule Ballroom was still being filled, partners waited as, well, their partner ran a bit late to arrive. I looked over to where Hermione and Krum stood, envy filling my heart. My bright Sea-Green eyes darkened just a tad bit, most likely making people mistake them for being clouded by lust. What to do... what to do...

I turned to see Dumbledore preparing to announce the first dance of the night. Without having to pull out my wand, I Apparated behind him (Dumbledore) and tapped his shoulder, "Professor Dumbledore, I kindly ask you to please not announce me, so that I may remain hidden. If I do appear, then everyone would know that I am...me. So then the master plan you have supplied me with will not work."

"Ah, Perseus, you do know how to play a game well. Very well, I shall not announce your name. Think of this as I repaying you and your father the favor that I have owed your family for years."

"I will sir, and thank you. Now I believe you have a crowd to attend," and then I Disapparated from behind him and appeared right in the center of the crowd. **(Did I get the Apparition/Disapparition right? I hope so...)** If I had—as I called it when I was a child—warped one more time, I would have had to plant my feet on the ground. But all is good, I stood up tall at my full height and with my hands folded behind my back, I watched the partners of the Yule Ball dance.

 **I would like to thank Reyna Potter for bringing up the fact that the Yule Ball takes place** _ **after**_ **the first task, so I guess the best thing to do to fix up this small/big mistake of mine is to play around with the chain of events a bit. So, the Yule Ball will take place first, then the first task and then everything else that happens after that. PLEASE HAVE THOSE VOTES OF WHETHER OR NOT PERCH SHOULD BE A WEREWOLF IN BY THURSDAY, APRIL 13** **th .** **IF NOT ENOUGH VOTES ARE CASTED BY THEN, THEN I WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE ON MY OWN. THANK YOU. (LEAVE YOUR VOTE IN A REVIEW)**


	4. Chapter 4

Walking around the room, I found Hermione in all her beauty, sitting on a chair. The orchestra was still playing, so walking up to her, I offered her my hand and bowed deeply.

"Would you honor me with this dance, milady?" She looked back and forth, playing with a silver necklace she had on.

"Sorry, I'm here with Viktor Krum."

"I'm sure a small dance wouldn't hurt, would it," I looked up at her—still bowing—and gave her a dazzling smile. She seemed to debate it, before giving a small nod and taking my hand.

I pulled her to the dance floor.

I wrapped my arm around her waist, not her hip **(for those who don't know the difference, the hip is exceptionally below the waist, which is around the middle of the belly. The hip is below the belly button)** , as she rested her arm on my shoulder and grabbed my free hand. We began to waltz and one minute in, I smiled down at her.

"See? Told you it wouldn't hurt."

"Who are you?"

I seemed to think about it before shrugging and spinning her around. "No one important. Does it matter?"

"I suppose it does. I'd like to remember who I dance with tonight. Which was supposed to be with Krum…"

"Ah. I see. Well then, you can call me Alexander." I said, using my code name. When I first came up with it, it seemed fitting. In Greece, it was recognized as the Defender of Men. I smiled mysteriously at her before pulling another dance move.

She raised an eyebrow. "Alexander? Not a well-known name in the wizarding world."

"Yes well, that's what happens when you come from generations of family who love to travel." More like that's what happens when you join a group that protects men and women from the evil truths of the world. Because it was such a rare name, my father would just use Poseidon as his code name. People didn't believe his name was Poseidon, so that played in favor for us.

I raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "And you, miss?"

"Hermione," she plainly said before letting out a small gasp when I stretched my arm out, causing her to twirl away from me, and then pulling her back to my chest. We moved back to the position from before, the traditional position for a proper waltz.

"Well," I began as the song died out, "I believe that ends my favorite part of tonight. You have a certain Krum to get back to," I winked at her, and smiled one of those smiles from the muggle movies that would show the teeth sparkle just a bit.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, _Alexander,_ " she gave me a slight bow.

"The pleasure was all mine, I insist." She started to walk away before I remembered one last thing. "Oh and Miss Granger?" she turned around, a little surprised. I smiled at her, "What's life without a little adventure?" I walked away.

. . .

"Ron, why was Hermione so upset?" Harry asked Ron as they entered the room.

I was on my bed, reading, in shorts and a tee. I looked up from my book.

"I don't bloody know…" his voice drowned out in my head and I immediately felt the need to comfort her. "Where is she?" I asked, causing them both to jump up. "Who?"

"Hermione, Ronald. Where is Hermione?"

"When did you get here?"

"Four months ago, after the Sorting. Where did you leave Hermione?" I began to put on some pants and sandals, preparing to walk around the whole castle if I have to.

"Since when did you care?"

"Just answer the question, Ron."

"No. I want to know why you're so interested in Miss Know-It-All."

I looked up and glared at him. Shutting my book and standing directly in front of him, I asked him one more time.

"On the stairs," he gulped, frightened by my steely glare. I grabbed a sweater and—still glaring daggers at him—began my search for Hermione.

. . .

Fifteen minutes later, I found her on the stairs, hugging herself. The halls were empty, and I began to become worried she would get in trouble.

"Hey," I said, sitting next to her. Her shoulders were shaking, and awkwardly, I un-zipped my sweater and wrapped it around her bare shoulders. "Let's get you back to at least the common room. If we stay here any longer, we're going to get into trouble." Together we stood up, and I offered her my sandals as I held her heels in my hand. Her feet looked red from all the high heel dancing.

"Thanks."

"Mhm," I shoved my free hand into my pocket.

"Mind telling me what happened?"

"Stupid Ron, that's what happened. He always has to ruin everything." I nodded my head in understanding.

"Then… forget about him," I suggested, shrugging my shoulders. She looked up at me and scoffed, "Easy for you to say. You haven't spent the last four years being friends with him."

"I've been here long enough to know that that kid can royally screw things up. Better off if we forget about anything he does that pisses us off," she laughed a little at my tone.

"So, um…" I stupidly said, feeling the awkward tension between us, "anything interesting happen tonight?" I asked, waiting for her to say a story.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Ouch," I grabbed my chest for dramatic effect. She laughed and playfully shoved me towards the wall. "Rude," I said to her. She shook her head and we continued to walk up the steps in silence. I would steal glances at her, but say nothing. The tension between us was so thick, I would need a chainsaw to slice through it.

"How was your night with Krum?" I asked, using a terrible Russian accent with the name Krum.

"It was okay," she said, seemingly lost in thought.

"What about your night? Surely you danced with a lot of girls."

"Mmm, no," I said casually. "Just with one special girl, but mostly _nothing that concerns you,_ " I teased her at the end, quoting her exact words. She mocked me back by holding her chest and saying "Ouch," I laughed and lightly and playfully pushed her. She barely moved an inch with how light the "push" was. She ended up also laughing, the previous tension forgotten.

"Listen um… for the break I'm going to visit Mum, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me? If you decide to stay, that's fine, but I've told Mum _a lot_ about you and she's really excited to meet you for the first time. You don't have to worry about the tickets, those can easily be taken care of. And if you decide to, after dinner you can come back here? It's just a thought, you don't have to—"

"Sure."

"Wha–what?"

"Sure. It could do some good to take a small break before the Tasks begin. It would also give me the chance to say a quick greeting to Mum and Dad. So, sure, I'll join you."

"Great! I'll tell Mum! Is tomorrow morning okay with you? I wanted to be with my mum as soon as possible because of a certain… _condition._ "

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll just have to get packed. What time?"

"Uh seven. So that way we're there for midday." So that gives us three hours to pack, three hours to sleep, and one hour to be at the Hogwarts Express. Hm, not bad.

. . .

 **Next day:**

"Mum! I'm home!" **(oh the cringe on how old-fashioned that sounded)**

" _Just a minute!"_

I looked back at Hermione whom was wearing her scarf, hat, gloves and coat. I set our bags at the entrance and invited her in.

"Hermione is here too!"

" _That's great!"_

I smiled at Hermione and offered to take her coat, using magic I had it "float" over to the coat rack and be neatly placed.

"No wand?" She asked.

"I've had a little practice."

"Hmmm." She nodded her head. I started to take off my black coat, took her gloves, hat and scarf, and put them away.

"Alright, well the fireplace is over there, so if you'd like you can make yourself at home. Mum'll be down at any minute."

"What are you going to do?"

"Get dinner started," I smiled. Just as I finished saying that, my ears heard the slight creak of a stair. "Mum you're down," I smiled brightly and hugged her. Her swollen belly from the pregnancy was way more noticeable than last time I saw her. She rested a hand on her stomach as most pregnant women tend to do, and looked behind me and at Hermione.

"This must be Hermione. Hi, I'm Sally, Percy's mother. He's told me a lot about you," my ears turned pink. "Mum!"

"Oops, is that one of the things I wasn't supposed to mention?" I glared at her as she laughed. Hermione laughed at my embarrassment also.

"Oh no, not you too! That's it, you're on kitchen duty!" I said to Hermione playfully.

"What, no. That is not fair," she said, still smiling brightly.

"I know. You can set your things in my room. It's the first door to your left, up the stairs," I informed her as I started to head to the kitchen. "As for you Mum, stay in the living room where I can see you!"

"When did you become the one giving orders around here, mister?"

"I didn't. It was just a suggestion," I immediately backed-off. She smiled and ruffled my hair before waddling to the living room, watching television.

Putting on my apron, I got to work on some turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, and stuffing.

. . .

"Hey," I knocked on my door as I saw Hermione looking at the pictures and posters on my wall. She had moved on to looking at the hundreds of books on my bookshelf when I decided to make my presence known. She turned around.

"Dinner is ready. Mum is just setting up the table."

"Who's this?" She disregarded my statement and picked up the moving photo of my father smiling and laughing, holding me on his shoulders and pointing at something out of the frame. "That's, my dad when I was younger. We went to a Quidditch match. He was showing me the players of the team we were rooting for. I'm five years old in this photo," I explained, pointing out small details from behind her. She nodded her head. I peered over her shoulder, and looked at the next photo she was observing. "That one is of me and the rest of my 'clan.' We were really close, almost friends, but where we were, having friends made us weak. So we became… brothers of some sort."

"It doesn't seem like a place I would like to live in."

"That's just it— we were comfortable with it. In our previous life—before joining the organization—we were nobody. Everyone ignored us as if we were Monday's trash. We found refuge within each other. We believed whatever the organization told us, because the organization to us was our second family. We ate, slept, cooked, cleaned, etc. together. We were… comfortable with it, I guess. We only felt wanted within our group."

"I guess it makes sense. Are you guys still in contact?"

"Sadly no. You're not allowed to communicate with Outsiders unless it's during a mission. If we were to run into each other, that's the only time we can talk. But I don't know anyone of this Sector."

"Oh."

"Uh, dinner is ready. Don't want to keep Mum waiting."

"I'll be down in a second," I watched as she marveled at all my books. "Take any," I said. She looked back at me. I shrugged, "Anything in there you might like, keep it. I've read those books millions of times already. It'll be in better use in your hands than in mine."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

. . .

"Where'd you learn to cook?" Hermione asked as she leaned back in her chair, finished with her plate. I stood up and picked up her dishes, even after she insisted she'd pick up. "Dad taught me. He was a _way_ better cook than I'll ever be. I can show you a recipe or two in the future if you'd like."

"Thank you, that would be nice. Here, let me get those," she grabbed the cups and began washing them in the sink.

"Awe, Hermione. You're our guest, you're not supposed to be cleaning up."

Mum buried her face behind her mug as she tried to hide a smile.

"No, no. I insist. You and your family have been nothing but nice to me all day. If you'd like to dry them, that's all I'm letting you do."

"Fine. But this isn't over, missy."

"Not until I say it is." She held her head high with pride. I smiled and shook my head to myself. Grabbing a towel, I began drying the dishes and placing them where they belong.

Fifteen minutes later, we were done and in my room. I was folding some sheets for me to take with me to the living room as she sat on the bed. "I don't get why you're making a big fuss. I literally live right next door. I could come back tomorrow, I swear."

"No, no. It's fine. I'll feel like I'm kicking you out." When I finished saying that, she sighed loudly through her mouth.

"Do you have any clue what the First Task is going to be?"

I set down the sheets. "No," I said gravely, knowing this could turn out badly.

"So then how are you preparing?"

"Well, there's such thing as training. I'm practicing all the spells and charms I've learned, learning new ones, and training hard both mentally and physically. It's hard to prepare, if you don't know what you're preparing _for._ "

"Fair enough." She said, looking out the window.

"You still don't agree with me participating, do you?"

"I still don't understand why you did it. Did you think you could redeem yourself or something?"

"When I was placing my name in for consideration," I said with a small sigh, "I was thinking I could prove myself worthy," I sat down on my desk chair and rolled it right in front of her.

She looked down at me. "Worthy of what?"

I looked down. "Worthy of being noticed by you," I whispered. She seemed to hear me.

"Why on _earth_ would you believe you need to do that?"

"Because…" I shrugged, "Harry, and Viktor," I sighed. "Harry: he's the Boy Who Lived. Impressing right? Of course it would be easy for him to get the attention of whoever he wants. Ron, well, he's just someone who you keep arguing with, that's how he got your attention. Viktor: well-known quidditch player. And he placed his name for consideration, _and_ he was chosen as a Champion? How can I, a nobody, ever compete with that? I'm just some random boy who showed up at Hogwarts with nothing to impress you people."

She sat, in silence, taking in my reasoning. "I think you're worthy," she finally said. I looked up at her.

"Yeah. That night, two months ago, instead of taking advantage of your, uh, position, you stopped and reasoned with me. Instead of letting your pride take over, you came and said sorry to me. Outside of a closed door where everyone can listen and see. If that's not worthy enough then look at everything else you've done. You take care of your mother, you respect people, instead of leaving your father where he lay, you took his body _with_ you. You have done many things, and it worries me that you don't acknowledge them." I stood up and sat down next to her on the bed.

Together with the stress, the fun, and this talk right now, I felt myself falling asleep.

"I don't know anyone else who would try to make themselves worthy to be able to become friends with someone. That itself is something that makes you worthy…" her small, soothing voice sounded like a lullaby, and slowly, my eyes started to close and my consciousness started to drift away.

My head fell in her lap.

. . .

I don't remember my pillow being this smooth… and when did I get a body pillow? I hugged whatever it is I'm hugging tighter and buried my face deeper into my soft, smooth pillow. I felt myself get whacked on the head, and frowning, I grumbled "Five more minutes, Mum," snuggling with my pillow. I heard angelic laughter begin right after I started rubbing my face against my pillow.

"Percy, that tickles. Stop," tickles? But last time I checked… last night. I opened my eyes to come face-to—uh, stomach? With Hermione's stomach and turns out I didn't really get a body pillow. I was hugging Hermione's waist. (Cue deadpan)

"Good morning," I said to her, slowly getting off her and looking up at her, she was already sitting up and fixing her wrinkled clothes.

"Good morning to you too," she got up and started to grab some stuff from her luggage. I turned away and started to grab clothing from my drawer.

"Where's the…"

"Shower is down the hall to your… right."

"Thanks," she grabbed her stuff and walked out. I signed in into my iMac and opened up music, pressing the space bar, my recents playlist started to play. I bobbed my head to the music and continued to put stuff away. Twenty minutes later, I was singing along to a love song when I turned around and faced Hermione. Blushing, I frantically stopped the music and stopped singing.

"Uh," I cleared my throat, "Mum has breakfast ready, you should go down and eat… I'll be down in a few."

"You're a good singer," she told me as I started walking out and into the bathroom. I smiled and closed the door, and turned on the water.

. . .

"…and then he ran straight into a wall."

"Mum," I groaned as I walked up behind her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Morning."

"Good morning."

I raised an eyebrow, facing Hermione, "She's not poisoning your brain with crazy baby stories is she?"

"No," she said, smuggling a laugh. I looked between Mum and Hermione, and groaned. "I see how it is. Stealing my friends from me are we now?" I faced my mum. Shaking my head, I moved on to the counter and started putting together a sandwich.

"Nothing that concerns you, sweetheart."

I nearly dropped my plate. I looked behind me and at Hermione, who seemed as shocked as I was. "What?"

Mum turned around to face me. "Did I say something?"

"Um… no. Never mind. Continue," I sat down across from Hermione and started to eat my sandwich. She was eating one of Mum's famous pancakes. Mum settled with two pancakes and a cup of black coffee.

"How far along are you?" Hermione asked Mum.

"Ah, I'm eight months and three weeks pregnant."

"Do you have a due date?"

"January 3rd. Doctors say that there is still a small risk, but that it's not normal or common to lose the baby at this stage."

"That's good."

"Although we haven't thought of any names yet." I said, looking pointedly at my mum.

"What," she shrugged, "I wanna see her before I give her a name."

"Fine."

"Do you two have anything planned for today?' Hermione and I set our cups of OJ down and looked at each other, "No?"

"Of course you don't. You wouldn't be my son if you did."

"Hey!"

"Just saying," she got up and picked up our plates, deciding that was our cue, Hermione and I left to my room.

"Your mum is nice."

"Yeah. Do you wanna... go say hi to your parents?" I asked, grabbing a sweatshirt. She put on a pink sweater over her white shirt and nodded her head.

"Mum! We'll be next door if you need anything."

"Okay. Don't be too long."

"We won't."

. . .

"I'll... wait out here," I cleared my throat and prepared to sit on the front steps. "Nonsense. It's my turn to repay the favor."

"Oh, but I don't think your parents will remember me."

"Remember you? You guys haven't even met yet. Of course they won't remember you." She laughed. "Right..." I can't believe I let that slip. She pushed open the door, and stepped inside, addressing her parents in the empty house. "I brought a... friend," she ended in a small voice. When we found her parents in the living room, she "introduced" us to each other. Her parents smiled brightly at me and we each shook hands. I looked around the room. There were a bunch of framed photos, pictures of Hermione and her family, lovely pictures. Her and her parents were talking to each other in the kitchen as I stayed in the living room, feeling quite awkward. There was small talk about random things when the Grangers returned to the living room. We talked about school, hobbies, and random conversation-starters. Hermione sat next to me to help make me feel more comfortable, something, I presume, that did not go unnoticed by Mr. Granger. I made a mental note to myself to not try to upset him in any way, Merlin knows what would happen. He could forbid Hermione from having any type of interaction with me! All the meanwhile, he would sneak glances my way, as if he were trying to remember something that was just out of his reach.

About two hours later, Hermione and I were on our way back home. "Wait," I stopped.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just—I wanna show you something. Come on," I grabbed her hand and started to lead her to my favorite park. "Percy," she said worriedly, "your mum doesn't know where we are right now. Don't you think it would worry her?"

I shook my head and led her to the park. The special thing about this park is the lake. For some reason, it is always _super_ clean and blue, it's beautiful. Sometimes Dad and I would sneak off into the secluded part of the park—which was surrounded by thick trees—and take a dive. Of course, one of us would stay on the look out to make sure we weren't caught. In the middle of the lake was a beautiful fountain. We would race each other to the fountain and back to the shoreline. We haven't even told Mum much of it. I explained this to Hermione. I took off my hoodie and handed it to her.

"No. You are not jumping into that water. It's freezing!"

"So?" I shrugged, and started to shrug off my tee. She turned around, a faint blush spreading through her ears and cheeks. "Just a quick swim, please?" I practically begged her. She seemed really uncomfortable to be in this situation with me.

" _Fine,"_ I grumbled and took my hoodie back, forgetting that I had taken off my tee I shrugged the hoodie back on. "Let's just… relax under this tree then. Just breathe some fresh air," I said. She nodded her head, chin tilted high in pride.

I sat down, leaning on the trunk of a steady and thick tree. After a weird moment of silence, I spoke.

"I always go to the water to help keep me calm."

She turned to face me, "Why is that?"

"I don't know. I guess since my father had such a great passion for it, I believe a part of him is always with the water, and that he'll still be there for me when I need him most. It's silly, I know, but…" I shrugged at the end.

. . .

I looked at the ready-to-rise moon. Panicky, I started to stand up and pulled Hermione up with me.

"We have to get moving. Correction: we had to get moving ten minutes ago," I said through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"This is their feeding grounds. Since everything else in town is town and city, they resolve to feeding off of whatever is here, which is their territory."

"Who's feeding ground? Territory? Are you talking about _wolves?_ "

"Yes," I said, nearly sprinting while pulling Hermione along next to me. "There's a reason Father didn't like hanging out during the night. Nor do I." I pulled out my wand as I realized how dark it had become. _"Lumos,"_ I growled, the light emitting from my wand was fairly bright, lightening the path well enough to see well behind and in front of us. Hermione pulled out her wand and did the same. I grabbed her hand and ran even faster as we heard growls not too far behind. Two seconds later we heard what sounded like a horse galloping behind us, and we knew it was a pack of wild wolves. Werewolves perhaps, but all the same.

"Don't stop, _running,_ " I warned Hermione, before whispering _"Nox"_ to my wand and turning my head to the side to look behind me. I saw a tall, black, wolf with a scar on its… nose?... try to lunge at us. I watched as the beast prepared to jump, but as quick as a cat I incanted _"Confundo"_ and pointed my wand at the large wolf. It fell to the ground, but two wolves stayed behind with it as three more sprinted up from behind it. Knowing Hermione would be terrified if I killed one of the beasts, I called out the incantation for the arrow-shooting spell and pointed at the wolf closest to us. One arrow nicked its ear, another impaled itself into the wolf's right front paw, and the last one soared past it. I called off the spell and continued running. "Come on," I said, looking over my shoulder every other syllable, "we're almost there."

"Where's 'there'?"

"On the border. They can't be seen by muggles. I've seen it happen before."

I turned around as one lunged at me, quickly, I swung my arm and hit it on the snout, causing it to lowly whimper and become dizzy for just one second.

"Idiot!" I face-palmed. "What?"

"We can't lead them home. I got it. Turn left and dodge into that bush." We both did as I said and quickly, I flicked my wand at her.

"What did you do?" She asked as she saw a white light emit from my wand. I did the same to myself. "Sh. I just used the Disillusionment Charm on us. Stay quiet and hold my hand. It shouldn't last long since I didn't say the incantation aloud. Come on." Just as the wolves jumped behind the bush, Hermione and I were off. Sprinting and panting, we raced for my house. I recoiled slightly as a wolf nearly pawed at my face. I continued to pull Hermione. Ears perked, the wolves followed us onto the street, dodging the lights. I was just about ready to stop and fight them off when the night bus came into view, it's bright lights causing the wolves to run back into the wooded park. Hermione and I were becoming more and more visible.

Realizing this, and the fact that the bus was not stopping, I looked over to see Hermione's hair and sweater start to appear. Guessing her outline, I made a jump toward her, wrapped my arms around her, and rolled us in mid air so that I would be the one under. Before my back could smack against the curb and push all the air out of my lungs, the bus whizzed past us. Barely missing us by the skin of our teeth. "Stupid muggle drivers," I tried for a laugh, though no humor was in my voice. I was panting and breathing heavily, and so was Hermione. A burst of extreme pain shot up my spine, and I started to groan loudly in pain. I could finally see Hermione's face. I frowned. _I can_ see _Hermione's_ _face. This isn't good._ "Come on," I grunted, and pulled us both up. Seeing me in pain, Hermione threw my arm over her shoulders so she could help support me with my weight. Hey, I'm not fat.

"Did you hurt anything?"

"Besides my back? I think I dislocated my shoulder," I said. She looked at the arm that was loosely around her. She wrapped one arm around my back and started to pretty much lug me back home. "No, not this one. My left, the one _not_ doing anything right now." I could feel something liquid-y start to trail down the side of my head, but I dismissed it as sweat. Hermione looked up at me and frowned.

"The magic you used, will you get in trouble for it?"

"No. I'm of age to use magic and if anything, I can show them my 'tattoo.'" We tried to move as fast and silent after I said that. The wolves are still near, and can attack at any moment. How random for a bus to be out at this time… was it one of our busses? Of the Wizarding World, I mean.

"We're half a block away," I couldn't help but say it. Soon, half a block became ¼ of a block. Then four houses. Then three, we were down to one house when there was a growl from behind. We turned to see three wolves forming a small triangle, growling at us. I wanted to yell out at them of how annoying and unwanted these nasty beasts are.

I held Hermione closer to my side, and pointed my wand at the wolves. Making two wide arcs with my wand, I incanted _"Avis"_ causing a large flock of birds to be summoned and fly straight into the small group of wolves. Not wasting any time, I Disapparated from the front of the muggle house, and Apparated alongside Hermione inside my room. With all the use of the power-consuming magic, the Apparition and with all the running and sudden drop in my adrenaline levels, I fell onto the floor with a loud _THUMP._

Hermione gave a short gasp and grabbed my wand and placed it on my desk. She started to pull off her sweater and placed it under my head. "Potions," I nearly whispered.

"Where?"

"Under… bed… brown, box…" I breathed out. She pulled out a large brown box with two layers of potions. "B… 3…" she frowned for a moment before understanding what I mean. She grabbed the bottle and placed it in front of me. I started to shiver and my teeth started to chatter. "You're losing too much blood," she muttered.

"C—C—C… 5…" I said with my chattering teeth. She grabbed the bottle and slid over to me, pulling my head into her lap, keeping it a bit elevated. I felt myself start to choke on my own blood.

"Drink this," she said. I grabbed the Blood-Replenishing Potion and saw my blue and white fingertips. Too much blood loss. With the help of Hermione, I pulled off the cork and took a small sip of the potion. Too much of this stuff, and it's possible I could "over-load" myself with blood. Gently, Hermione started to poor the Murtlap Essence on the side of my head, running her fingers through that area of hair to make sure the essence got where it needed to go. If not for the situation, I would've been lulled to sleep by the soothing gesture. I hugged myself. "Feels, like, -30, degrees…"

"The potion should take affect any second now." Slowly, the color in my fingertips started to return, then in my cheeks and lips, eyes and ears, nose and the rest of my body. My temperature began to rise back to normal. Hermione finished applying the essence, and placed the bottles behind her, trying to keep my head moving as less as possible.

Hermione found a piece of cloth lying around, and pressed it against the side of my head. "Do you have anything for your back?" she asked.

"Y-yes. 2A-1. Layer two, section A, box one." She reached behind her and flipped the box over, reaching into section A1 and finding the ointment I was thinking of. "You have to rub a thick layer of it on my back. It'll melt and mend my bones back to where they're supposed to be."

"Is it painful?"

"I don't know," I admitted. She sighed and twisted my tee (which was in my hoodie pocket) and placed it in my mouth. I bit down on it, _hard._ Gently pulling off my hoodie, she gave me to the count of three, and turned me over gently to start rubbing the thick, lotion-like, ointment on my back.

It felt as if she were pouring fire on me.

"Gah," I yelled briefly before cutting myself off by biting down on my tee. I can tell she was trying to be as gentle as possible, but the creator didn't have _gentle_ in mind while he/she was creating this. "You, have, to," I closed my eyes tightly as I felt the ointment start to take affect. At first, it feels like the hottest fire ever when coming into contact with your skin. Then the fire spreads, and goes deeper and deeper, before it cools down and turns freezing as it moves like liquid around and through the bones. Then, the water would grip the bones, and grip them as if they were iron bars. The iron would start to melt and you're left with the same burning sensation you started with as it melts the bone and continues to mend them correctly. I could feel myself sweating horrendously. I could feel a pulsing sensation on my back, and as if it weren't painful enough, every time the pulse intensified, an even _greater_ amount of pain would spread through my body like a huge tsunami.

 _Pulse one: I took in a gasp of surprise._

 _Pulse two: I bit down on my tee and groaned as loud as possible as the sensation spread to my legs and toes; arms and fingertips._

 _Pulse three: I couldn't take it anymore._

As Hermione finished rubbing the ointment, I reached up blindly to grab her arm, shoulder, anything. I reached her hand. I grabbed her hand and tried to control how much pressure I was applying.

"Hermione. Hermione," I panted. I looked up at her, my mouth feeling dry as my tee soaked up everything. Because my mouth was stuffed, it sounded like I was saying _"Permihohe. Herhinana,"_ Hermione looked down and hesitantly pulled the twisted tee out of my mouth.

There was another pulse.

My eyes widened as my grip on Hermione's hand tightened and I bent down to bite her sweater, the one she gave to me to use as a pillow. "Ah!" I yelled. Hermione glanced nervously at the door. If I knew it would hurt so much, I would've waited for tomorrow when Mum isn't home. As the pulse died, I looked up at Hermione. "The door," I said, "lock, the, _door,"_ she got up and did what she was told.

. . .

I sat up on my bed, shirtless and with a sleeping Hermione who was only wearing a camisole and a plain white top over that. Her bottom half was covered in my blanket, so I don't know if she's wearing jeans or shorts. She's wearing something, I can assure you that. I just don't remember why _I'm_ not wearing a top. I look over to my left. On the floor, I see nothing but bloody and dirty rags and clothing. My closet is open. On my right, I see nothing but bloody and dirty clothes strewn everywhere. Hermione's luggage is open.

What happened after I told her to lock the door? I look over at the comfy bed I'm currently sitting on, and see one pillow between Hermione and I. I smirked, classic Hermione. I quietly throw my legs over the side of the bed and look around the messy room. If anyone were to walk in here, they'd definitely get the wrong idea. Sighing, I grabbed a clean tee from my nightstand and shrug it on, wincing at the bolt of pain in my shoulders and back. _Probably sore from yesterday._ Did we take care of my dislocated shoulder? I rolled my shoulders forwards, and backwards. Yup, definitely took care of that. I looked over at Hermione.

Her face seemed so peaceful and yet troubled at the same time. I wanted to lean forward and capture those soft lips with my rough ones. Reach up and caress that pale, and yet angelic and beautiful, face. Land my hand on her shoulder, and drop it carefully to her hand. Interlace my fingers with hers. Hug her, and protect her from any mal-intentions. I want to do all sorts of things that _strictly friends_ shouldn't. Why does she make things so difficult, and why do I find thataddictive? I reached over to push a random strand of hair behind her ear. I set a hand to caress her cheek, and just look at her. Memorizing every curve, cut, and detail of this face I've seen so many times, but have never seen before. She sucked in a breath, and I pulled my hand back. I turned away, and tested my strength. Everything seems fine, back feels like jelly, but that won't make a difference in today's performance, will it?

My back felt like it was iron in the process of cooling down after being molded into the sharp sword it is expected to be. Planting my fists on either side of me on the bed, I tried to push myself up. The weakness of my lower back nearly made me topple over. I tried again.

I was met with an almost clear success.

My back felt like it was jelly, but nevertheless I still attempted to walk around my whole room without falling over. "Ugh," I groaned, bending over to pick up random clothes and rags here-and-there. "We made quite a mess, didn't we?" I looked up to greet a brown owl who had just perched itself on my window sill. It flapped its wings once or twice and dropped a scroll from its claws. Placing a hand on my back, I limped over to my feathered guest. I bent down to snatch up the scroll, and unrolled it to reveal divine script.

 _Dear Agent 5120 of Sector 0315,_

 _There are many things the Elder Guardians_ _would like to discuss with you. Word in the department suggests you and a non-Guardian wizard were attacked by (were)wolves and then proceeded to use potions that are strictly for Guardian and Veteran use only. The 15 Elder Guardians have already summoned the pack leader of the pack that you were supposedly attacked by last night. I have taken the task of summoning you to Court, not as your previous leader, but as a family friend. The Elder Guardians and I expect you at the Court of Sector 3247 at precisely 10 p.m. tonight. Sorry if the owl arrived late, I am writing to you from America._

 _-Great Elder Jean._ **(Pronounced as John)**

With my jaw set, I crumbled up the piece of paper and shooed the owl out of my room. It flew away. I see how it is. They discharge me after being "mentally unstable" when I lose my father, and then want nothing to do with me. But when their "secret identity" is threatened, they immediately claim themselves _family friends?_ No. Yes, it is true, he was once my leader, but I am no longer a part of the Guardians. He no longer has any type of control over me. If he wants me to attend the court, he's going to have to send some of his precious Officers to come escort me. I am _not_ going of my free will. I shoved the letter into my black mesh garbage bin.

. . .

"Percy, sweetie, are you okay?"

I turned my gaze from the clock to my mother who sat across from Hermione and I holding a cup of tea. "Yes, of course I am. Why?" Hermione leaned a little forward to get a good look at my face.

"You seem a little... _on edge._ Care to explain why?" Ah, so she recognizes the look. This is not the first time I've been summoned to court. Many enemies of mine have tried to press charges against me, but to no avail as Jean would not listen to a word of the prisoners.

"Nothing," I shook my head. Mum continued to look at me wearily, and then back at the time. _10:00. Maybe he isn't as punctual as the good ol' days, huh?_

 _Knock, knock, knock._

I stood up and grabbed my hoodie, tying my sneakers, ready to make a run for it. Mum stood up along with Hermione. I grabbed my wand from the coffee table and started to head for the back door as Mum went to check to see who's at the front door.

I didn't notice the crumpled piece of paper in Hermione's hand. Mum opened the door. Almost immediately, Mum was bombarded with questions by two men in black uniform. My hand was on the door knob when I closed my eyes. _No, I am_ not _going to leave them alone to explain why I ran._

My fingertips fell away from the knob. Sighing, I walked in front of Hermione, hiding her with my broad shoulders.

"The Great Elder Jean has requested an audience with Agent 5120, mam. Is he present?"

"Agent 5120? Uh, yes, yes, he is here. But as far as I am aware, Agent 5120 is no longer active. Unless this meeting is of him being requested to become a Guardian again, I am afraid this violates code." I smiled at my mum's feistiness. The two Officers looked at each other, softly discussing to one another of the matter.

"Very well," they nodded, "we shall speak to the Great Elder of your choice and knowledge of your rights. Excuse us for the inconvenience."

Mum closed the door, turning around and crossing her arms over her chest, her face demanding. "Percy?"

"Yes?" I cringed away from her just a tad. "Would someone like to explain to me why two Officers of the London Institute have showed up at my door tonight?"

"No?"

She started to tap her foot impatiently. I sighed. "I was attacked last night. I had dropped Hermione off with her parents for the day and decided to walk around for a bit. I... stumbled into their territory. They had a right for attacking me and I had a right for attacking them once they stepped into territory of the Guardian Realm. I used, some of Dad's potions..."

"Perseus Alexander Jackson!" Hermione stepped back, shocked, "I have told you once and I am telling you for the last time, _those potions are dangerous!_ There is a reason why they are strictly for members of the Guardian Realm!"

I would have answered, but there was a knock. Mum glared at me before turning to open the door.

It was Jean Carter, in the flesh.

 **So? What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Good or bad? Please feel free to leave a review!**

 **7,275 words.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ranks (from smallest to most powerful) of the Guardian Realm.**

— **Trainee**

— **Trainer**

— **Officer**

— **Guardian**

— **Great Guardian**

— **Veteran (No longer active but still have control over lower ranks)**

— **Elder Guardian (only 15—three Elder Guardians per rank) [If a veteran comes back and takes a seat as an Elder Guardian, they are considered Veteran Elder Guardians because they were in-active for a period of time]**

— **Great Elder Guardian (Great Elder)**

Jean stepped into the house, and protectively, (growling) I stood in front of Hermione, barely half a foot in front of her.

"Great Elder Jean," I gave a slight nod in his direction. He looked at me expectantly, raising a brow.

I made a fist. "I have been freed from the control of the Guardian Realm. You are entering—not as my commander—but as a guest." He nodded.

"I must say," he started, throwing himself on a chair lazily and crossing one leg over the other. Mum moved into the kitchen. Hermione stayed behind me, "The Elder Guardians are slightly disappointed you did not show."

"What other choice did I have? Two rookie Officers—which by the way I can command as I am three ranks above them—show up at my front door, demanding I attend the Trial. Serve cookies?"

"What gave it away?"

"Their Marks," I stated calmly. "The lack of a Mark shows the rest of the realm that they are in training, and have yet to pass their exams. I," I said, pulling my right sleeve up to show him my forearm, "have been Marked. I am a Veteran, I could have easily fooled them and order them under the name of the Elder Circle to leave."

"I suppose having two Mark-less boys was a dead giveaway," he waved his hand.

"I suppose it was. Why are you here?"

"Straight to the point. Just like your father… take a seat."

"I am fine right here."

"Very well. I have come with a proposition. I offer you a seat as one of the Elder Guardians, and a solution to your… problem. In return I ask that you testify _against_ the werewolves. You will be head of the Elite group, and will cover Sector 3247. You will be welcomed as a Veteran Elder Guardian, and be given access to any information and institute/object you desire."

I stood, and began to think. If I join, will I be able to continue at Hogwarts? Will I be able to see Hermione again? I can't imagine life without her. Joining will give me information and access to anything I want, including Voldemort and his lackeys. I can avenge Dad. Make the world a better place for Hermione, Mum, and my soon-to-come sister. All I have to do is say the truth? Hermione and I were walking out the park and they started attacking.

But I attacked back. And what were Hermione and I doing in their territory, with the knowledge of it being the wolves' land?

Talking. But no, that won't work. We could talk anywhere.

"I'll think about it. As for now, I believe you have a council to address."

"Yes. I suppose I do," he stood from his seat and walked up to me. Stiffly, I offered him my hand. "Nice seeing you again, Perseus. I have left something for you in your room. Don't worry, I didn't enter. Have a good night," he shook my hand and Disapparated out. I turned to see Hermione already on her way up, running to my room.

Walking in, at first I saw nothing new. But then, then I walked over to where Hermione was standing and I saw two of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. I reached over to pet the bird to our left.

"Do they have names?"  
"The baby blue one—ice phoenix—is called Delphinine **(Dell-fin-nine)**. He's one of the last of his kind. The royal blue one is a water phoenix. She doesn't have a name."

"Delphinine? My father's bird was Delphinine. I never met him. I just know that he's... an ice phoenix," I looked at the bird in astonishment. I looked at the royal blue bird.

The water phoenix was blessed with soft feathers that started off as a nice shade of royal blue, and slowly faded towards the tips into an aqua color. Her eyes were warm and welcoming, reminding me of my father's smile and of the night all at the same time. I pet her. She flapped her wings and flew onto my shoulder, nuzzling her face against the crook of my neck.

Hermione laughed. "I guess she likes you already."

"I guess she does."

"What will you name her?"

I shrugged and looked at the bird on my shoulders long and hard. "What about Lynn? It stands for waterfall..."

"Hmmm... I don't know. I don't think it suits her. Something simple, something vague, something that would make someone want to see why her name is what it is. Blue?"

I looked at the phoenix on my shoulder and smiled at her. "Blue... what do you think?" The bird made a purr like noise, showing its appreciation. "Okay, Blue it is. Welcome to the family, Blue." I laughed as she nuzzled against my cheek. Hermione smiled and continued to pet Delphinine. Her face showed astonishment, amazement, and a tinge of jealousy.

"Do you have a bird?" I asked her. She looked up at me.

"No—I mean—he was your father's bird."

" _Was,_ and look, Dad said that someone important to him gave Delphinine to him. Now it's my turn to do the same. Besides, what would I do with three birds? He could be of some use to you," I explained to her. She blushed a little when I said someone important.

"Give him to your mum?"  
"Mum has a bird of her own. Please, it's my turn to give Delphinine to someone important to me." She bit her lip and looked between the bird and I. She slumped.

"Okay."

"Thanks," I said, relief clear on my face. She smiled. I looked over at Delphinine and watched as he closed his eyes and nodded his head in approval. I nodded back.

. . .

 _*Bwqua*_

Panting and sweaty, I looked into the porcelain toilet bowl I just finished throwing up in.

Blood.

Sighing, I flushed the toilet and moved over to the sink, brushing my teeth and splashing water on my face. With the water dripping from my hair and face, I looked at myself in the mirror.

I wanna punch a wall with my fury, I want _something_ to understand just a snippet of the pain I go through _every day._ Harry has his scar; I have my sickness. I have yet to tell anyone of it, is there something to stop a killing curse?

With a small cry, I punch the wall next to the mirror, causing it to shudder. If I had the choice, I'd rather have let that Killing Curse casted by Voldemort kill me on the spot. _Stop it, I have Mum and now Hermione to think of. Don't be selfish. Be strong, and don't think like that. If not for yourself, for Mum._

"… _and a solution to your… problem."_

Oh Merlin, he knows. Jean knows and he won't help me?!

Opening the door to the bathroom, I nearly ran head-first into Hermione. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Upset stomach," I tried to shake her off, and walked back downstairs to the couch, aka my makeshift bed. She shuffled down the stairs wearing only a pink and grey baseball tee, and grey shorts. She crossed her arms and started to tap her feet.

"What? I told you, just an upset stomach."

"Okay," she shrugged, and walked into the kitchen, did I mention she's barefoot? I heard a kettle come into contact with the stove, and the stove turn on.

I walked in behind her, the only light in the kitchen coming from a candle on the marble countertop.

"What are you doing?"

"Making tea. It should help you rest and help with your 'upset stomach.'"

"Oh." Sighing, I pulled out a chair and sat as she prepared two cups of tea. A few minutes later, we were both sitting down, drinking our tea in silence.

"There is one thing that Jean said that is bothering me."

"And what is that?"

"He says he has a solution to your problem. As far as I know, the only problem you're having is most likely deciding whether or not to accept his offer."

"…I don't know what he was speaking of either. Maybe he was talking about the Triwizard Tournament," I shrugged. She took another sip of her tea as I stood to place my now empty cup in the sink. "I'll clean 'em later," I muttered to myself. Fixing my sleeveless Nike, black training shirt, I sat back down, my grey shorts low on my hips.

"Having trouble sleeping?" I asked Hermione as I crossed my bare feet one over the other. Hermione and I continued to talk about random things for a while before I dozed off. I felt her shuffle around, and a blanket being wrapped around me, and then the slightest sound of the creaking bottom stair.

"Hermione!" Ron and Harry yelled as they ran to hug said girl. I smiled and set down both of our luggages. Hermione hugged them back.

"You scared the bloody hell out of us! We thought you were in some sort of trouble! Especially since you and Mr. Pain-In-The-Arse went missing at the same time."

That is when Ron looked behind Hermione to see a frowning me, his eyes looked down towards Hermione's luggage at my feet. "Oh," he said, "I see. You _were_ with the bloody enemy."

"Enemy? Ron, Percy is not an enemy," Hermione tried to defend me.

"Ron," Harry said in a warning tone. Ron stepped back. "You too? He's a Death Eater and you both know it. Why else would he want to spend time with Hermione? He's trying to get to you."

Harry and I both fell silent. What happened to the boy on the train? The one that looked like he was ready to pee his pants? "I'm not a Death Eater. Watch it," I growled at him. "I spend time with Hermione because I want to, not because someone is ordering me to—" I cut myself off by going into a coughing fit. Great, just what I need. My bloody body to start acting up.

I pulled out a handkerchief and started to cough into it. Hermione walked over to my side, looking worried. I folded my handkerchief before she got the chance to see the red splotches of my blood. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Hm," I cleared my throat, bringing my hand back to cover my mouth, "excuse me." I grabbed the luggage **(Percy didn't bring anything but a messenger bag because he already had clothing in his house)** and started to run up into the Gryffindor common room and setting Hermione's bag down on the door of her dorm and then walking off to a restroom to brush my teeth and throw out my handkerchief.

. . .

I rubbed my shark tooth between my thumb and forefinger. _It's starting to decay,_ I noticed grimly. I pulled up my pant leg and watched as my leather anklet started to dry up a bit.

 _The enchantment is wearing off. I must do something, and quickly._

. . .

 **First Task:**

I looked at myself in my blue and black cloak-like robe, and walked around the tent, trying to calm my nerves by fixing my gloves and placing my wand in an inner pocket of my robe. I listened to the cheering of the large audience outside, and the wind was blowing against the tent mercilessly. I looked at a troubled Harry Potter.

"Just breathe, and be quick," I told him, he nodded his head and walked off. Viktor stood at one side of the tent while Fleur stood at the other. Sighing, I walked to stand against the side of the tent facing the arena. I looked to my left, and watched as Hermione jumped out of nowhere and hugged Harry, nearly knocking him off his feet. I felt an iron fist choke my heart as it was forced to climb into my throat. I heard footsteps and stood in front of the two oblivious teenagers just in time for a _Whiiir, Flash,_ to occur and my photo was taken.

"This tent is for Champions only," Viktor and I growled as Hermione and Harry stepped away from each other. "I suggest you leave," I told Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet journalist.

"Yes well, we don't all get what we want, do we handsome?" I felt the urge to vomit, but mentally shoved the vile blood back down my throat. "No, we don't."

I crossed my arms along with Viktor and watched as she rolled her eyes and stood near the entrance of the tent, her quill ferociously writing in that notepad of hers as she talks.

I turned around, ignoring Hermione as she stood next to Harry, her nose turning red from the cold. I walked past them and towards the entering Dumbledore and judge, Ludovic Bagman I believe his name is?

"Alright, gather round, quickly," Dumbledore ordered. We Champions formed a circle around he and Ludo. Dumbledore began to speak when he turned to see Hermione.

"Ms. Granger, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing sir," she mumbled something and—through the corner of my eye—I watch as she glances at me before biting her lip and walking out.

"Now then, let's go over the task shall we?" Says Ludo. We are to reach into a bag, grab a token with the name and number of a dragon, and once called on we are to retrieve the golden egg. Sounds fair enough. I looked down at my wand, and remembered the day I had it forged.

" _Ah, what can I do for you today?" Asked the wandmaker of the base I was currently stationed in._

" _Hey, Mr. Oaklie. I was wondering if you could… make me a_ special _type of wand? I would like to try out a theory a friend and I have come up with."_

" _Sure. What do you have in mind?"_

 _I pulled out two vials from my pocket. Oaklie stared at the two in pure astonishment. "Someone I know is too chicken to try to mix two cores together. I was wondering if you could make me a wand using these two cores." Still in shock, he picked up the vial that had a Phoenix feather, and then observed the strands of Thestral tail hair._

" _Where did you get these? They're the most rare items to be used as a wand's core."_

 _I shrugged. "If you get around as much as I do, you know places. And a friend of my father allowed me to pluck the feather."_

" _H-how long is your old wand?"_

" _12 and ¾ inches long."_

" _Wood?"_

" _Uh… Cedar."_

" _Core?"_

" _Dragon heartstring."_

" _Alright," he said, starting to walk towards the back of the shop, "I'll see what I can do…"_

 _Later on I was presented with a Blackthorn/Ash wand with both the cores I had presented Oaklie with. It took me weeks to be able to master the ways of my nearly 13 inch wand, but I got the hang of it and the wand became extremely loyal. My friend gave me 20 Galleons for winning the bet._

"Percy," Dumbledore awoke me from my day dream. Shaking my head, I reached into the bag. "Sorry."

Out came a token with the imprint of a Swedish Short-Snout. "Hm, not bad," I muttered to myself. Ludo looked at me as if I had just made a very large mistake that will soon be corrected.

"Or… not."

I watched in utter horror as Harry pulled out a Hungarian Horntail.

"No. There's no way he's allowed to go with that. Can we trade? Throw in the tokens again and have us pick new dragons. Something!" I protested, feeling sorry for the poor boy. Dumbledore looked at me, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

My shoulders slumped.

"Alright then," Ludo clapped, a smile on his face. "Who's first?"

. . .

I heard the whistle blow for the third time. Harry clapped my shoulder, "Thanks for trying to help, mate. Good luck."

"I'm gonna need it. The way Ludo looked at me…" I shivered. Taking a deep breath, I walked out the tent.

"Breathe, follow your instincts, remember your training, and all should go good," I muttered to myself, before looking up to see an enormous, 30ft dragon with silvery blue skin, skin for amour, and a large horn on the top of its head.

It turned around with its tetradactyl-like wings and faced me as its nose flared with a blue fire.

 _What's up with all the blue?_

I looked to the stands and see Hermione, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion. I pulled my wand out from the inside of my robe sleeve.

 _Clank clank clank clank…_

The dragon, not wasting any time, opened its mouth to spit blistering fire at me. Eyes widened and heart racing, I rolled to the side.

I felt my heart pound against my rib cage as I breathed quickly. Hiding behind a boulder, I closed my eyes. Sixty seconds… sixty seconds and I'll be assured almost a full score. I let go a deep sigh.

 _One…_ my eyes shot open and I stood up.

 _Two…_ the Swedish Short-Snout turned around, the chain nearly whipping me in the face and allowing her to face me and burn the left side of my body.

 _Three and four…_ ignoringthe pain and letting the adrenaline pump through my body, I made a mad dash toward the golden eggs.

 _Five, six, seven…_ the dragon continued to spit fire at me. I turned and realized I was not going to make it.

 _Eight-twelve…_ I tripped on a random boulder and fell to the ground, the impact nearly breaking my knee and knocking my teeth around my mouth.

The crowd winced.

I looked up, and was barely able to throw my robe around me, cradling my anklet and shark tooth when the dragon fired again. Some of the audience cheered while others stood in silence. The judges were at the edge of their seats.

 _Thirteen-sixty…_ after checking my magical items, horrified to see nothing on my neck or ankle, I noticed everyone watching in confusion as to why I was worried of my jewelry

"Ah!" I roared as the fire died out. Without a beat of hesitation, I turned and pointed my wand at the dragon, releasing a jet of water at its face, and without turning away from her, I backed towards the eggs. Wildly, it swiped it's claw around, sweeping my legs from under me. I lost focus on the spell and fell on my back, feeling the forming blisters pop.

 _Boom boom, boom boom…_ my heart blew up in my ears. Grunting, I transfigured a large bolder into a buck, allowing the dragon to be easily distracted. I smacked the side of my head against a pointy rock as the chain started to be drawn over me. I crawled out from under it, and limped to the eggs. The dragon turned around.

It took the stance of firing at me, but I ducked and rolled, cradled the egg in the crook of my arm and fired a large blast of water, nearly screaming the incantation. The water connected with the fire blast, and I sighed a bit with relief.

 _Pant…_

 _Pant_

 _Pant_

 _Pant_

I felt myself start to fall asleep. The fire shot upward, signaling the end of the task. The dragon was called off, and I felt myself kneel on the ground.

" _Percy!"_ I heard Hermione yell. I looked up to see her trying to reach me, but Hagrid was holding her back.

"Percy, is it?" I looked up from the ground, head spinning, to see the blurry face of a redhead with blue eyes. "Don't worry, mate. All's taken care of," he said. I nodded my head. He threw my arm around his shoulders and supported me as I limped to the medical wing.

. . .

The first thing Madam Pomfrey addressed as I lay on a hospital bed, groaning, was my fractured ankle. With a quick spell, all my dried blood was cleaned up. With another and another, my cuts closed up and my ankle was fixed, being wrapped in bandages like a splint. Next, she spread an orange paste on my face, most likely for the use of mending my burn wounds.

When she reached to turn me around, I stopped her and shook my head. She shook hers.

"No offense, Madam Pomfrey," I panted, "but I'd rather much place that on myself. Thank you," with my arm in a cast and pasted with the orange substance, I grabbed a jar the matron passed on to me and limped out of the room, my burnt robes/cloak trailing behind me.

Merlin, I don't know what would happen if she had pulled off my anklet and tooth.

. . .

"Percy!" Hermione breathed out in relief as I trashed Harry's party. She ran up to me and threw her arms around me.

I simply chuckled and grunted.

With my one good arm I hugged her back, before pulling away. "Ow."

"Sorry. How are you out of the Hospital Wing? I saw everything, you almost burned to death out there."

"I told Madam Pomfrey I'd apply the Burn-healing paste myself. I was so not ready for my comfy clothing to be disregarded."

"How do you plan on getting it on your back?"

I stopped, "Uh, I didn't think of that."

"Of course you didn't," she rolled her eyes. Later on she surprised me by telling me the judges granted me 40 points, a perfect score.

. . .

 **Two weeks later… (Percy is healed)**

"…and then when she poked the balloon, it popped!" Hermione and I broke into large humorous laughter. I was about to continue with another story, when I watched Blackjack fly in. He landed on my outstretched arm with a letter.

"I'll see you at dinner," I told her. She nodded her head, smiling, and started her walk to the Great Hall. I smiled to myself and petted my owl as I opened up the letter and read it. It's from Mum. "Hey buddy, I didn't think Mum would reply…" I didn't finish my sentence as I read the sheet of paper with tear stains.

 _She—she—no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's—it has_ got to be _a lie._

I ran out the castle.

. . .

Reaching the sand and shoreline, I slid to my knees, my robe falling off and my pants getting dirty. I sat down and pulled my knees close to my chest, placing my head between my knees and silently crying.

She—she can't be. My tears stained the sand. My loud wails were drowned out by the silence of it all. The silent crashing of the waves against the sand, the silent bristle of leaves rustling through the trees. The silent neighboring villages. It was all just— _silent._ As if the whole world had caught its breath to see my next move. I bowed down, my forehead touching the sand as if I were deeply praying or bowing to some non-existent God.

I heard nothing. Not my screams, my sobs, the violent waves, the clapping of the flock of birds' wings. The busy villages. Hogwarts. I heard _nothing_ but the sound of my beating heart.

 _My beating heart. Not hers, mine._

"You should've taken me!" I yelled, feeling absolutely empty. My soul has started to chip away for a year now, how do I expect to have one? "My heart shouldn't be pumping this dead blood through my veins!" I had started to lose cups upon cups of blood at a time for a while now. Why should I still have more?

"I know everything I will ever need to know. I've felt love, I've felt hate and fear and love. I've felt it all, she hasn't. She hasn't even experienced her first breath yet!" I pounded my fist against the ground. I stood up and faced the angry Black Lake. "Take me," I pounded my fist against my heart. I did not hear the faint sound of voices calling my name. "Come on you bloody murderers! I'm supposed to be dead, not her!" I yanked my necklace off and threw it into the sand. "There! I don't want your bloody gift! Take it! Take it all!" _I just want to be there for her, to protect the poor creature who has yet to feel the sun on her little face._

I undid the loops of my anklet and threw it into the shallow end of the lake.

"Percy!"

I ignored the voice, and stood, fuming at the lake for no reason. To an outsider, I would look insane, but everything I am doing makes sense to me and to me only.

I felt my gag reflex act up, and I bent over, clutching my stomach as if it would fall right out of me. I fell to my knees and used one hand to keep myself from falling over.

I started to vomit as if my life depended on it.

When the body-raking power of the vomiting slowed, I helplessly crawled over to where I threw my necklace, my hands drenched in chunks of blood.

"What's going on?" I heard a faraway voice ask me.

The person was nearly screaming into my ear.

Chunks of my inner self crawled up into my throat, and fought against me to hop onto the sand and scare the hell out of my apparent guest. "M-my, necklace," I choked, blood spilling from my mouth like a waterfall.

I felt a force try to keep me down, attempting to make me submit myself to the failure of surviving. My heart was no longer beating, and instead froze into a block of ice when in reality, I deserved to burn.

 _What if I do die? Isn't that what I was just_ begging _for?_

I reached my necklace as the person tried to pull me up. "No!" I yelled, fighting against the smaller frame. "If I can't be with her, let me live for her and let me go!" I threw myself into the sand in my desperate try of getting to my necklace. "My necklace," I gurgled, drowning in my own blood. The person groaned in frustration but handed me my shark tooth nonetheless. I slipped it over my head.

Almost immediately I started to feel the effects of the charmed item. Instead of looking like some blue monster, my skin turned into a frightening pale color. My face no longer looked like a skull, and my body no longer a skeleton. My skin started to reappear, making me seem more human by the second.

 _It is not enough. I need the anklet._

Using my hands to keep me from falling over, I ran to where the waves meet the sand, and found my leather anklet. I felt like a fragile newborn, one wrong move and I'm a goner.

With a desperate crawl-like walk, I sat down and started to tie my anklet around my ankle. I laid back, panting, the effects of the charm acting as my drug and making me feel alive again. My red-stained white button up shirt showed the other person on the beach how my ribcage went from being just a skeleton, and then into my old body.

Panting and sweating, I turn my head to the side to see a shocked Hermione. Her eyes remained wide and her hands were clamped over her mouth, as if stifling a scream. At first I saw her as a swirling… _thing_ with arms and legs, before she came into focus. She came close to me, and saw the tear stains on my face.

I push myself up onto my knees, and give one last scream/roar of defeat before just simply staring back at my lap. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It's Mum," I mumbled, loud enough for just her to hear. "The baby—she, she didn't make it. My mum nearly suffered the same fate." She hugged me, and it felt as if a third charmed item was placed on me.

My iced heart began to thaw, my heart started to pump again. _Blood_ started to run through my veins, that of a wizard, not of a blood-thirsty monster. She sat there, and she searched for the lost pieces of my dark soul, and placed them together, filling in the small cracks with pieces of her own. Every piece of my black soul was purified by her.

Over a year ago I had started to feel my soul chip away. Over a year ago I started to lose blood—cups and pints at a time. A year ago my heart froze into a clump of ice. Over a year ago, I believed that my own body had given up on me, and started to shut down.

Here I am, a year later, watching as an angel picked my soul back together, taking all the time in the world to make sure it comes out perfect. Here I am, a year later, watching, my knees dug painfully into the sand, as this girl gives me her blood to help save mine. Here I am, a year later, watching as a piece of the sun thaws my heart—not too quickly, not too slowly. Here I am, a year later, watching as an inventor winds me back up, making my body function on its own again.

Here I am, one year later, watching as I helplessly fall in love with Hermione Jean Granger; the glue that keeps my soul together, the magic in my blood, the beat to my heart, the fuel to my body; pick me back up and show me that yes, I may have already experienced fear and hate and death, but I am also destined to experience bravery and love and _life._

I wipe my tears, and I stand up. The best warriors are not those who become heartless and push away their emotions. The best warriors are those who sit down and cry, but then get back to their feet and get the _effing_ job done.

 **Sorry for the late updates! I was not connected to any internet service for such a looooooooong time! Also the week has been feeling super stressful. If you read any of my other stories, I will be updating them all between today and Thursday, I am still analyzing A Man Without A Hearth so hopefully I can get a good chapter up by my deadline!**


	6. Chapter 6

"You're dying," she stated, not questioning me but stating a fact.

"Indeed I am. How'd you find out?"

"You were _dead_ when I got here. Basically a bag of bones. How am I supposed to _not_ know? You should've told me! I could've helped you find something to cure your… disease."

"Nothing can help me. Not until I find two charms. It took my Mum _millions_ to be able to retrieve these two."

"What kind of charms?"

"They're supposed to be pure, so pure that they keep me from decaying, as that Killing Curse should've done a year ago."

"There're many pure things."

"Yes, but the charms I am looking for are difficult to find. Only… the Elder Wand can reverse the curse. That is only behind a powerful wizard. The charms I need decay, because they suck up all the elements of the curse. That is why I need four. Together, they keep me alive until ultimately the curse breaks through them and kills me." Hermione took this information in as I stared out into the water.

"Let's get back to Hogwarts," I suggested. With the amount of blood I lost not too long ago, Hermione had to throw my arm around her shoulders to help me with my first few steps. And then the truth of it all hit me.

 _I'm dying, my baby sister is dead._

"On second thought," I tried to sit down but instead settled for hugging Hermione. "I just—I just need a moment," I whispered into her hair. I felt her nod her head, her body a little stiff, and yet relaxed at the same time. "'Mione, how can she be gone?" I asked.

"These things happen, unfortunately. It all happens for a reason. Maybe if your mum had tried to give birth they both would've died. Maybe she isn't to be born yet, and had to leave," she tried to console me. I hugged her closer. _I am not letting her go, not the way I let go my unborn sister._ Never.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"You know I'll _never_ let anything harm you, right?"

She wrapped her arms around me, hearing the crack in my voice. "Yes Percy," she said into my chest, "I know."

. . .

 **February 23. Hey look at that. A change in the POV for once. Third Person:**

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were at the library, searching into books and looking for ways to prepare Harry.

"I don't understand why you hang out with him," Ron continued his conversation with Hermione.

She huphed. "Of course you don't. What _do_ you understand?"

"That he's a bloody Death Eater, that's what. He's always actin' so secretive, has a tattoo, which I am willing to bet is a Dark Mark, and is always hanging out around us! It's solid proof."

"There's a flaw to your evidence," she scoffed. "The 'Dark Mark' you claim he has, is on his right. Dark Marks are on the left forearm you git."

"So? He could be an exception. Merlin knows he's one to everything else…" he murmured the last part under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"He probably wants to kill my mate for glory! Wants to be known as The-Boy-Who-Killed-The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Glory? Is that what you think he wants? Let me tell you something: between him and Harry, Percy has got it worse. He has gone through many hardships that you can't even _begin_ to imagine. Not even Harry can."

"Oh yeah?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "Please Mione, enlighten us with _one_ of his accomplishments or 'hardships.'"

Hermione hesitated. "Go on," Ron pressed. She began to think if something _not_ classified can explain the harshness of his life.

She bit her lip. "His—his baby sister died," she told them. Harry remained silent throughout the conversation.

"Big whoop. Harry's parents were murdered, you don't see _him_ running to You-Know-Who and begging to become a Death Eater, do you."

"Ron!"

"It's the truth. Nothing wrong 'bout it. Besides, the baby wasn't even born yet, why would he cry over something like that?"

"I never said anything about the baby not being born, or of him crying. He _never_ cried," Ron took a step back. Hermione stared at him, the gears in her head turning before they stopped abruptly. "You—you were spying on us!" She pointed at him. Harry stood up.

"You—you—" she started to pull out her wand, but decided against it and instead charged forward. "Anyone can easily mistake _you_ of being a Death Eater, Ronald. Spying on your friends now are you?," she spat, storming out of the library.

 **Percy's POV:**

I looked to the entrance of the common room and found Hermione stepping in. Smiling, I stood up and walked up to her.

"You wouldn't believe what I did! I found—what happened?" I cut myself short when I noticed she looked _pissed._

"Nothing. I just want to forget it. What is it you found?"

"Um, the clue. The clue for the Second Task." I beamed.

"What is it?"

I cleared my throat. _"Come seek us where our voices sound,/ We cannot sing above the ground,/And while you're searching ponder this;/We've taken what you'll sorely miss,/An hour long you'll have to look,/And to recover what we took,/But past an hour, the prospect's black,/Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

"I've already broken down most of it, it's pretty straight forward."

"What do you have?"

"So, the next Task is going to be either under water or underground, but because it says that I have an hour… it's most likely underwater. I only have an hour to retrieve what they have taken or else, game over."

"I should…"

"There's more than one reason why I told you, Hermione," I chuckled. "Now go warn your boyfriend," I teased. Now, how do I plan to save something underwater within one hour…?

She never came back.

. . .

"Where's Potter?" I heard someone ask. The Champions and I looked back and forth and shrugged before we heard the _pitter patter_ of bare feet slapping against the wooden dock. Smiling, I pat him on the back and prepared for the start. Checking that the leather sheath on my calf will hold, I placed my wand in it and began to stretch, breathing in and out and swinging my arms back and forth.

"You ready for this?" I asked Harry. He gulped but nodded his head. Overhead I heard the blast of a canon and someone yelling "BEGIN," and almost immediately we all jumped into the Black Lake.

Logically, the deeper and further I went, the darker the water gets. I had decided to hold my breath as long as I can, and then cast the Bubblehead charm. I reached five minutes before I decided it was time.

Swimming gracefully as if I were walking on land, I strained my ears to hear even the slightest sound.

And then I heard it.

The sound of the Merpeople. Beautiful, angelic, and yet the sound of nails being drawn down a chalk board compared to the voice of Hermione. Following the music, I swam deeper and farther into the lake. I reached into a small clearing at the same time as Harry, and looked on as the mermaids instructed us to take only one. Harry and I nodded. He did not see me yet, and swam down with his webbed feet and hands towards the feet of Ron. I swam to "zap" the rope of Hermione, and started to swim up, keeping my eye on Harry as we ascended.

When I reached the top, I noticed Viktor and some girl gasping for breath, but no sign of Harry. I helped Hermione onto the dock. Everyone cheered, Gryffindor cheering that their housemate surfaced first. Hermione reached down to help me, but I shook my head.

"Something's up with Harry. I'm going to check. Go warm yourself up," I told her. I swam back down.

Once I reached the bottom, I noticed a bunch of spears and tridents being pointed at Harry. I zapped the ropes of the two remaining hostages, and signaled for Harry to start swimming up with them. When he did, the two of us started to swim up, but were dragged down by the merpeople.

"Only one," they growled at us. Together, Harry and I pushed Ron, and Fleur's little sister back to the surface. We started to struggle with the merpeople, and kicked and punched but with no progress. I kicked at one that was focused on Harry, freeing him. I looked at him and pointed up. He shook his head, "no," but he and I both noticed his gills starting to close up. With my last bit of strength, I reached and pushed him up. He tried to protest but Harry's never been a good swimmer. The merpeople bit and poked at us, but mainly me since now I have rescued _four_ people. I arched my back as I felt something puncture the skin on my back. I felt knife-like teeth be buried into my neck, arms, legs, the tips of tridents being scratched along the side of my face. I looked and saw bright red in the water. _Blood._ I pulled out my wand and started to cast spells on them. Harry came back down and stupefied all of them, allowing us both to go up. Because of the fight, we were both practically weak swimmers by the time we reached the surface.

Our heads broke free from the water, mouths wide open, trying to take in as much oxygen as possible. I helped Harry up and then pulled myself up onto the dock. Moody came to Harry's aid as Hermione came to mine, noticing my grip on my throat. I was panting like a heavy smoker, and my hands were firmly pressed against the side of my neck. My back was burning and so were my legs, arms, and face. Hermione ran up to me on the wet wood and wrapped me in a bunch of towels and robes. "You'll be okay, Percy. Nothing big," I spit a mixture of blood and water out of my mouth. I nod my head in response of Hermione's reassurance.

Pulling the towels tighter around me, I stood up and wrapped an arm around Hermione. "I'm glad you're okay," I said, pressing my lips to the top of her head. She nodded. "You didn't have to go back for the others, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have let students die for the failure of the completion of a Task you know."

I smiled. "I know."

I looked and listened as Harry walked up to Ron with a serious face.

" _He's not a Death Eater."_

" _How do you know?"_

" _Because he nearly gave his life to save mine, that's how." Ron trailed behind as Harry walked away._

"You okay?" She asked me as I let go of her. "Yes, nothing that won't heal with a little time. Plus, I hear chicks dig scars," I joked. She laughed.

"Who told you that lie?"

I shrugged, "People." We continued to walk in silence, and experimentally, I stretched my fingers to brush against her soft hand. When she didn't pull away, I slowly took her hand in mine. When I realized she wasn't going to pull away, I intertwined our fingers and we continued to walk back over to Hogwarts, our hands swinging back and forth between the two of us. For once in this crazy year of death, I felt at peace.

. . .

 **(Few days later)**

 _Hey mum, guess what, in a few months I'm going to be home again, for Easter. Not much has happened since the last time I wrote to you. How are you doing? I'll be home for Easter. Love you._

I kept the letter short, leaving out the fact that Mr. Crouch was found dead in the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest. Everything was as usual, Ron hates me, Hermione and I are… I don't know, and Harry is neutral. I sat back, toying with a small rock as Blackjack flew away with my letter to Mum.

Walking out of the dorm, I walked into the common room to find Harry, Hermione and Ron talking together. It was the weekend, so naturally everyone was hanging out around the castle or Hogsmeade. They were laughing and smiling, telling jokes in front of the fire.

"Hey," I said, sitting next to Hermione. She looked at me and greeted me back. Ron frowned. Harry smiled. "Hey," he said. "We were just talking about some pranks Ron's brothers have pulled on us. Would you like to join us?"

I smiled. "Sure."

. . .

"Package for…Perseus Jackson?" A small boy walked up to us with a box tucked between his torso and arm. I raised my arm and smiled at him. He walked up to me and handed me the package after having me sign my name on a paper.

"What is it?" I opened the box and looked inside. On the top, was a letter with a grey stamp that read _A.C._ I opened it up.

 _Dear Seaweed Brain,_

 _Everyone misses you, but as you are aware, by sending you this letter, we are violating many rules of the Guardian Realm. Let us get straight to the point, Carter is after you. Rumour has it you rejected a great offer from him, and now he is set for revenge. He has a bounty on your head, and has every one of his followers searching (hunting) for you. Our friends in the Elites are trying their best to keep the Guardians away from your trail. Especially Thalia and I. Try to keep a low profile for now, at least until a new Great Elder Guardian is sworn in. Your participation in the Triwizard Tournament is not helping your cause. You've been through this before, we believe you can go through it for one final time. Hope that these things help you._

— _Missing you dearly (and hoping to be able to get into contact with you again), Wise Girl._

"What is it?" Hermione asked again. I handed her the letter before rummaging around in the brown box. In the box, was a pair of combat boots and another pair of running shoes, the best in the Guardian Realm Industries. I also found a sheath for my wand, muggle and wizarding money, extra potions and medications, and the address to a safe house. Hermione looked up at me after reading the letter, "Who's Wise Girl?"

. . .

"You guys used to..." Hermione tried to piece her data together. _She looks adorable,_ I thought, _with her eyebrows furrowed together like that._

"Yeah, but not anymore."

"Oh. How did it…?"

"End? I was discharged from position as Great Guardian. And because you're not allowed to communicate with Outsiders, we decided it'd be best to just wait till I join again or if she retired."

Hermione looked down. "Didn't seem like it was very difficult to send that letter." The fire from the empty common room made her skin tone warm. I cupped her chin with my index finger and thumb, and moved her head to look up at me. "Hey, this doesn't change anything between us. You're still my best friend, okay?" She nodded.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I _needed_ to prove to her that I still care for her the way I did before Annabeth's letter came. I leaned down, and I pressed my lips against hers. Her response was immediate, like second nature, as she reached up to wrap her arms around my neck and play with the hair on the nape. My hand slipped from her chin to the back of her neck. My other moved to her back and pulled her closer to me. The kiss started to remind me of that one day three months ago, of the need I felt to lean down and kiss her when I awoke to see her, laying peacefully, beside me. When I reached my hand up to caress her face, and nearly claimed her lips with mine. Now, her face was not peaceful when I leaned in, but it was troubled, and my immediate response was to take away her worries. Hermione's once tense body relaxed completely against me.

I started to pull us back, the back of my knees hitting against the edge of a seat, forcing me to fall down and bring Hermione with me. We didn't care. If anything, I pulled her even _closer_ to me and we started to kiss faster than earlier. She was practically straddling my waist with our current position, and I felt myself starting to want more. I trailed my kisses from her lips, to her jaw, and then to her neck. When I realized the only thing my body was concentrated on was _more, more, more,_ I was already trailing my kisses down even lower, to the base of her neck right near her clavicle. I tilted my head to the side to angle my kisses just right, when my eyes opened in the guilty pleasure and I felt myself pressing Hermione's body against mine.

"Hermione…" I groaned, not really wanting to let go. She looked down at me. "We…" we were both panting heavily. "We, should, stop before we— _I_ get carried away." She seemed a little disappointed, so carefully, I turned us around so that way she was laying flat on the couch with me over her. "Maybe, over the summer or something when we're not worrying of the other dying. 'Kay?" I kissed her on the lips one last time before sitting up, letting her rest her feet on my lap. We were so used to the proximity, we weren't bothered we were just making out two seconds ago.

. . .

 _ **Harry Potter's Secret Heartache**_

 _Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen year old Harry Potter thought that he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss._

 _Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last Quidditch World Cup, and the fiasco at the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament (where Miss Granger is seen being carried out of the lake by Champion Perseus Jackson,) Miss Granger has been toying with the three boys' affections. Krum, openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to stay with him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl." Miss Granger is also seen dancing with a "mysterious" man at the Yule Ball, who has been confirmed to be Champion Perseus Jackson. Perseus Jackson has already taken Miss Granger on a romantic vacation during the winter break, after the Yule Ball took place._

 _However, it may not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate young boys' interests._

 _"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth year student, "but she'd be well-up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."_

 _Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate._

Across the table, I watched as Hermione slammed the article down on the poor wooden table. Inside, the section she was reading, was a heart that showed a picture of Hermione and Harry hugging, Krum and her dancing at the Yule Ball, and her and I (although she was not aware of it) dancing at the Yule Ball. I took the paper and read it.

"Unbelievable! The nerve of that—that…" she cut herself off by growling. "How does she even know of _half_ of those things? She's got to have an Invisibility Cloak stashed somewhere if she was able to find all this out!"

Some Slytherin girls walked passed us and in a visible, hushed tone, they looked at and talked about Hermione. Occasionally they would point at Harry, Krum, and/or me.

"Ugh," Hermione slapped her forehead against the table top. "Hey," I said, reaching over to push her back up and take the paper out of her hand. Everyone seemed to watch as our hands came into contact. "At least nothing _that_ bad is mentioned."

"Besides the fact she claims you are the one I danced with at the ball?"

"Well… em…"

"And that she knew of our _''romantic' week-long vacation'_? Which wasn't romantic!" She yelled the last part louder.

"So you admit you were with Jackson over winter break?"

"Now is not the time, Ron," Harry tried to save Ron.

"That, that bi—"

"Okay…" I cut her off. "I think," I slumped until I was under the table, and then slid back onto the seats on the other side, between Harry and Hermione, "that we should go read. After all, tomorrow we have classes again so let's just enjoy our small break, shall we?" Everyone nodded and gathered their things.

. . .

At the front steps of Hogwarts, Hermione sat on a step, her nose buried in a book. I sat on the step above hers, and rested my head on her shoulder, peering over her to read along with her.

"What's this?" I asked her in a soft voice as to not seem like I am screaming in her ear.

"One of the books you let me have."

"Oh. What's it 'bout?"

"Charms, Spells, Jinxes…look at this one," she pointed to the bottom of page 272, signaling to the Shield Charm. I looked closely at the handwriting, and recognized it as my own.

"I can show you it if you'd like. In fact, I can show you all of them." She turned her head to face me, her eyes bright with delight.

"Really?"

"Yeah, this is actually where I kept track of all the new spells I learned at the New York Institution. I'm glad it caught your attention."

"You'll teach me how to cast them?"

"Yeah. What harm could be done?" She smiled at me and repeated the phrase _Thank you,_ over a hundred times. I laughed. "Alright, alright. When do you want to start?"

"Today," she stated, eager to learn something new.

"'Mione," I groaned. She stood her ground. _"Fine,"_ I rolled my eyes. We walked around the area until we found a clearing.

"Alright. You go to that side and I'll go to this one," I said, referring to the opposite ends of the clearing. When we were in position, I said "Alright, for demonstration, you're going to cast the Knockback Jinx on me, and I'm going to use the Shield Charm. Ready?" She raised her wand and nodded. "Alright, whenever you feel just—"

" _Flipendo!"_

Caught off guard, I waved my wand in a full circle, without yelling the incantation aloud, and ducked behind the invisible barrier. The spell bounced off my shield, and hit a tree, causing no effect.

"Hermione!"

"Sorry."

"Alright, this time use an even _stronger_ spell and I'll shout out the incantation so that way you can get an idea of what you'll have to do."

She swallowed and nodded her head. "Alright, go!"

" _Flipendo!"_ She waved her wand in a slashing movement, her wand emitting a red light, indicating she just used Knockback Duo.

Once again I waved my wand in a circular movement and shouted _"Protego,"_ protecting me from the jinx Hermione casted.

"Good job, now you're going to wave your wand in a circle, and shout _Protego_ to get the shield. Okay? I'm not going to cast anything yet until you get the hang of it," I walked over to her and watched as she casted the spell many times. On the ground, I noticed how a beetle just wouldn't run off as the other creatures did when Hermione casted the spells.

Suddenly, I was knocked onto my bum. I looked up from the ground to see Hermione trying to hide a smug smile. "Haha. Very funny," I said sarcastically.

"Oh come on. You have to admit it is sort of funny. Maybe if you were paying attention you would've heard me." She laughed and walked up to me, holding out her hand to help me up.

I took hold of her hand, and pulled her down with me. I did not think it through, for she fell on top of me and only made me fall flat on my back. Her hands were on my chest and we were both left laughing at how much of an epic fail that was. Still laughing, we locked eyes, forgetting of our position.

Our joy was short lived.

 _Fliiiir plchink_ **(I have no clue how to be more descriptive of how a camera sounds)** came the sound of a camera taking a picture. Hermione and I scrambled to our feet, awkwardly standing side by side, looking at a camera man and Rita Skeeter.

"I thought Dumbledore banned you?"

"Yes well, I have my ways. Perseus, what do you have to say about Miss Granger using a Love Potion on you? Any words?"

"No. Now leave before I report you to Dumbledore." Wrapping my arm around her waist, I gently pushed Hermione behind me. She glared at Rita over my shoulder.

"Ah… young love. How…sweet. We'll be on our way now," and with that she and her camera man disappeared.

"That witch is always getting on my last nerve. What is she going to write about now? 'Falling in Love All Over Again'?!"

"Relax. There's not much she can write about with that vague photo."

She gasped. "What?" I frowned.

"You—You used a big-boy word!" She feigned surprised. Playfully, I pushed her shoulder, my cheeks red.

"Come on," I said, smiling as I pulled my wand back in front of me, "let's continue, shall we?"

. . .

"…getting all lovey-dovey with him! I told you, 'Mione, he is _not_ to be trusted. Merlin knows what's going on in that filthy brain of his," Ron argued with Hermione.

I sat down next to Harry as the two continued to argue. "What're they bickering about?"

"Oh that's more than just bickering mate. They're arguing about you."

"Haha. How flattering. Seriously, what?"Harry shook his head and handed me a newspaper article.

 **The Scandal Continues!**

 _Miss Granger continues her celebrity boy line up as she and Mr. Jackson go on a secret date and are caught kissing and laughing and having a good time! It seems that even after her scandal was revealed, Miss Granger continues to play with the unfortunate hearts of the three Champions._

" _Falling in love all over again…" Hermione Granger claimed when young Champion Perseus Jackson was asked of any concerns he may have of his and Miss Granger's relationship. Perseus himself responded with a quick "No" before continuing his previous actions with the capturer of his unfortunate heart._

 _So far, no word on how our beloved Harry Potter is taking the news. Do he and Miss Granger continue to date as before, or have they gone their separate ways?_

Breaking the text was a moving picture of Hermione and I on the ground, "kissing," when in reality we were just very close to each other and the angle of the camera made it seem so. I set the paper down, dragging my hand down my face.

"Sorry mate," Harry patted me on the back.

I looked on as two people had a very heated argument, to the point where they looked about ready to kill each other. "Yeah," I said, grabbing my plate and gathering my things. "I'm sorry too," I walked away.


	7. Chapter 7: I'm back!

There comes a point in one's life where you solely start to do things for others instead of for yourself. That point was right here, right now.

I kept my promise to Hermione, I owl-ed letters to her explaining how a spell works and how it is to be casted. Then I'd proceed to watch from a safe distance, and once I deemed her worthy to go the next level, I'd send my owl once again with a new set of instructions.

Avoiding Harry and Ron was quite difficult, but I managed. For weeks I trained on my own, during the night and in midday. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner I ate at the opposite side of The Golden Trio. I suppose the sudden retreat caught Hermione off guard, upset her even, but it was for the best. My interference with her friends and in her life in general would have just made things worst.

"Perseus?" Someone broke me out of my inquiries.

"Professor Dumbledore! Professor McGonagall informed me you were requesting my presence?"

"Yes, yes. Have a seat, have a seat."

Sitting in front of him, my old mentor started talking, informing me of the upcoming task, asking if I was preparing—the works. Until… "and how are things between you and Ms. Granger going?"

I turned red. "Well—you see—uh…"

"I hear you have been avoiding her? She seems quite troubled. Let me tell you something, Perseus," he got up and started to walk around. "Love, is a wonderful thing, my boy. It is powerful, it is a magic that… not all can master, not even the greatest of wizards," he smiled. "Love is a weapon all want to have in their corner, Love is what keeps us thriving, Love is the most powerful and yet dangerous element out there. Not all can acquire such a thing, you are aware of that, yes?"

Gulping, I nodded. Suddenly the seashell in my pocket seems to burn and grow ten times in weight. "What a wonderful thing, love. I believe the fool is too blind to see it, the wise allows it to blossom, and the realist to adjust. From what I see, my boy, you have fallen in love with the young Ms. Granger. Then again, at your age, your parents had fallen in love too."

"Yes," I said, standing up. "Yes, Professor, you are the first and probably last for me to admit this to, but yes. I have fallen in love with Hermione Granger. With her smile, her laugh, her voice; but wether I love her or not isn't the question. Wether I will be the fool, the wise, or the realist is not the problem nor is it the solution. The question is not if I question my decision, because yes, I have fallen in love with the girl. The question is: will she catch me?"

"I believe, if I may, that both of you are falling. You, are the first to have reached ground." He walked up to me. "Percy, I don't think Hermione is supposed to catch you. In fact, she is still falling, for gravity has yet to reach her young, ingenious, mind. Now that you have caught yourself, it is time for you to be there when she starts to see the dark floor of your heart. And you will embrace her, and accept her with open arms, because she will light the way."

"We're on separate paths. She's too busy ogling over Ron."

"You've got it all wrong, but that is not the matter. Soon, one day, you will understand what I mean. Now, keep on practicing and get a good night's rest."

. . .

I watched as the fire in the common room crackled. I played with the half seashell in my hand, my shark tooth necklace tucked into my black long sleeve shirt. My leather anklet almost noticeable under my cuffed jeans. The fire warmed my bare feet, the warmth welcomed by my body. I was stuck thinking of tomorrow.

"If we can just talk, please."

I nearly jumped at the troubled angelic voice. I found myself succumbing to her request, my body and mind at her mercy. With my father's red blanket wrapped around her, she sat down next to me.

The proximity reminded me of the few kisses we shared, and it took all of me to not attack her lips another time. I heard a crackle and my head was facing the side.

She slapped me.

She sighed, and leaned into me, "Why?" was all she asked. I wrapped my arms around her, not being able to resist the temptation. My heart stuttered.

"I had to," I said. "Hermione, I'm tearing you guys apart." I was not used to this. I was used to the girl who depended only on herself. Who would stomp around and insult you with words you did not even understand. Who was higher than everyone else, who did not care of what you thought. I closed my eyes as she sat up...

...and slapped me again. I sighed.

"If I thought you were hurting my other relationships with other people I would've been smart enough to get away from you. I don't need you deciding for me, okay? Don't you _ever_ dare choose something for me. I fight my own battles. I make my own decisions. Got it?"

I couldn't agree with her more. Gulping, I nodded my head.

"Good," she accepted, settling back down and placing her head on my shoulder. She nestled into my side and I wrapped a single arm around her. "You still owe me," she grumbled. I pulled her in closer. "Of course, I still owe you."

"Yeah. And you can't leave me again."

"I won't leave you again," I promised.

"Percy?"

"Hm?"

"Don't let go."

I hugged her tighter. "Hermione Granger, I'll _never_ let you go."


	8. Chapter 8

"How are you preparing for the final Task?"

"Let's not talk about it."

"What about for the upcoming tests? I know you haven't studied for them yet."

I shrugged, though carefully as not to disturb her. The rest of the night was filled with small, low whispers of nothings. We reached up to a certain time that I insisted that Hermione go up to sleep, because I still refuse to cut into her studies. Hermione had informed me of her small date-not-date with Viktor, and almost unconsciously I became a bit less… open. I also informed her of writing back to Annabeth and Thalia—telling them that I had promised Jean that he can not seek help from the Grace's and Di Angelo's. Annabeth also swore her family's—more like Athena's children's—loyalty to the Jackson family. I was grateful to have my friends and family behind me, and promised to find a way to get them out legally.

 **The Third Task:**

"Good luck, mate."

"You too."

Harry and the rest of us Champions stood in a line as we stared up the large wall of er… leaves? The final task was a a large garden maze filled with obstacles. We were instructed to find the Cup and then light up the sky to show we have won. Easy, right?

Not. As soon as Hermione sent Harry and I a sympathetic look, we were off, all of us running in different directions. The last thing I saw was Harry walking into the maze with a worried look. The maze closed up behind me when I ran in, and I was immediately met with a dark, foggy corridor-like section leading only straight. Scrunching my eyebrows in confusion, I cautiously moved forward.

About what felt like half an hour later (but was only five minutes) I found myself giving a small charge roar and attempting to push through a wall, trying to cut through the maze for I have gotten absolutely no where in just walking straight. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I collided with the concrete-like wall. In the distance I heard the second scream of this evening, and saw flurries of light and color as someone tried to ward off an attack. I closed my eyes and muttered a quick healing spell to mend my broken shoulder. In the distance, I heard a familiar shout—I heard Hermione's voice.

"Hermione?"

As soon as I had gotten the last syllable of her name past my lips, I yelped as I was yanked down by roots. The roots started to wrap around me like a boa constrictor, crushing me. I heard a few bones _pop_ and _snap_ and _crack_ , and nearly gave up when I felt the charm on my anklet crack.

And then I heard her voice.

Her voice alone gave me the strength to fight off the roots, before they could drag me under, and continue limping. I didn't follow the path of the maze, and instead made my own path. The maze walls moved and granted me my wish of a new path—my own path. In the distance I could hear the familiar grunts of Harry, and—cursing—I ran to his aid.

I found him in the situation I was in not a moment ago, and helped him. We started running as we saw a wave of mist roaring toward us—hopefully, not a poisoned mist.

"Thanks."

"Run," was my reply to his appreciation. I used a water spell and shot a stream of water at the mist, but I only delayed it as it climbed up the wall of water and rushed down toward us. "Run, Harry! RUN! Don't let it catch up! We won't be able to see!"

Using more magic, I was able to make a wall of ice to block the mist, but it cracked with the building pressure. I continued running, and bumped into a stiff Harry.

"Harry, what on ea—"

It was Viktor.

His eyes were foggy, and he wordlessly began to throw spells, curses, and jinxes at us. Harry and I ducked, and as much as I would love to give Viktor a good ole beating, I couldn't let that happen. So when I saw Harry begin to fight back, I stood in his way.

"No! He's been cursed. He doesn't know what he's doing! Come on Harry! The fog is nearly catching up!"

"We can't get passed him!"

"Go!" I muttered something under my breath, and a light emitted from my wand as Viktor was suddenly paralyzed. Harry nodded. We both used a light from our wands to try and see, then we saw it.

The middle of the maze was just like the rest, except larger and like a large square. In the middle rested the Triwizard Cup, and Harry stepped back.

"You take it. I nearly died back there if it wasn't for your help."

"No. I don't need it. You take it."

"Together?"

I didn't hesitate to agree. On the count of three, we sprung forward, and reached the cup at the same time. _Together_. I was about to signal the end of the tournament when suddenly, we were spinning and my body felt funny and Harry and I were screaming. It was a Portkey.

 **Third Person:**

"Should it be taking this long?" Hermione asked Ron, who shrugged and continued to cheer for Harry.

Hermione looked around, trying to find something that would help answer her, when her eyes caught the sight of two cloaked figures walking among the students. The two figures seemed to carry a level of authority with them, and were keeping their heads low as they finally found a seat. They stayed quiet.

 _Who're those two?_ Hermione wondered, narrowing her eyes. She watched as the figures looked around the stands, and locked their gazes in two other directions. Following their line of sight, Hermione found two uniformed wizards standing at attention—waiting, watching… hunting. These two were not cloaked. One had sandy beach hair, with a cooled expression and a scar on his neck. His left cheek had a burn mark and his right eye looked dull. The other man seemed tense, as if this were his first day on the job. Both men were wearing a long brown trench coat, black dress shoes (that seemed to be alright in case you had to run), black business pants, and a fedora hat. Both men were keeping their heads down and their hands stuffed in their large pockets. Their lips moved the slightest bit, as if communicating with one another, and Hermione seemed to realize these two were more of a threat than the cloaked figures. She looked around and found two—no three—no, _five_ other men dressed and acting the same way. Her back straightened and she gripped her wand tightly, prepared for the worst.

The cloaked figures seemed to be doing the same.

 **Percy:**

Harry and I landed in what seemed to be a graveyard, and as he groaned, I had to slap my hand over his mouth to send the _"Shut up"_ message. He understood.

Cursing under my breath, I hid both my healing charms to protect them as much as possible. We walked forward, until we heard a third set of footsteps, and then murmurs, and finally the crackling of a fire. We looked up from the ground, and I heard Harry suck in a breath.

This was in fact, the end of the Tournament, but a new challenge had begun.


	9. Chapter 9

**Third Person:**

Hermione narrowed her eyes as the aura the two cloaked figures seemed almost familiar to her. And then she realized: _These two are nearly the same as Percy, though he seems to hold a higher rank. Their posture, size, stealthiness—how did I not guess any sooner?_ Ron didn't notice as Hermione stood up, discreetly walking towards the two figures. She got close enough to listen in onto what they were discussing.

" _What if Per…"_

"… _know. He's... can take care of himself…"_

" _I don't know, Thalia."_

" _Look, I know you two have history…"_

" _So do you two!"_

"… _ew…"_

Hermione rolled her eyes at the small sign of immaturity.

"… _cousins."_

" _Still. Something's not right. Why are they here?"_

Hermione decided to test if these two girls knew of her friend. "I wonder if Percy is okay," she said, intending for the two to hear. They stiffened and looked at each other. Hermione smirked. "He should be," she started, much lower for only the other two girls to hear, "with his history and all."

. . .

 **Percy:**

Harry and I watched in fascination as a small, rat-like man walked outside into the courtyard with a black bundle in his arms. I looked at his hands to see dirty, yellow, long fingernails and resisted the urge to gag. He started to murmur to himself as he brewed what I hope is a potion. I looked at Harry.

"Voldemort," was all he said, before everyone sprung to action.

"Kill the spare."

Everything happened so fast, next thing I knew, I was thrown across the yard, my back hitting a solid wall, the air knocked out of my lungs. I had heard a small _crack_ at impact and knew I would soon suffer a concussion. My vision became black and white, my face was in the dirt before I could regain enough strength to pick it up. When I looked up, I only realized how late I was.

Harry was tied to a grave marker, his scar bleeding as he cried out in pain. Me myself, felt the pain as well, in my upper left body—where my heart is, where I had been shot with the Killing Curse. I pulled down my shirt from the neck hole and winced at the feeling of the scar reopening itself. It felt as though someone was using a nice to open up my chest and try and pull my heart out. I gasped at the sensation.

I looked closely at the grave marker, noting the grave to be dedicated to a Tom Riddle. The name at the time doesn't ring a bell. I watch in helplessness as Harry and I share the same pain, for the same animal had bestowed upon us the same sickness—death.

I groaned as the pain grew and grew—sharper and sharper—stronger and stronger and bigger and bigger. I rolled onto my back and with my right hand held my chest, gasping for air, my face turning blue. I coughed up blood, moving my head to the side so I don't choke.

I pointed my wand at the base of the grave marker, and enchanted _"Bombarda"_ setting a small explosion, destroying the marker, and freeing a gasping Harry. I cast a quick spell my way to help clear my airwaves from my blood—postponing death by asphyxiation by blood—and stumbled, yes, _stumbled,_ in front of Harry, who is still recovering. I look at Wormtail, now realizing his missing hand and the bloody knife, and look down to Harry, seeing the trail of blood on his sleeve and the irritated skin surrounding the cut. My eyes widened. My heart stops. My breathing becomes ragged.

I was too late.

Harry and I look on as Wormtail smiles in triumph, and I only have enough time to bend down and shield Harry as vapor clouds start to shoot out from the still boiling cauldron. The vaporous clouds were black, taking form above the cauldron. Wormtail seems too overly excited as he hands the skeletal figure a robe that was requested. The half-snake half-human baby had been born into a revolting looking man. He turned around. I stood up.

Voldemort.

Voldemort turns to address Wormtail, asking for his hand. Wormtail—still whimpering and grieving for his lost hand—passed forward his arm with an abrupt end. I watch on as that arm is rejected and the arm bearing the Death Mark is requested. As the exchange between the two occurs, my eyes dart from left to right and up and down. There's a deep rumble in my chest, the amount of pain and blood lost causing my energy to drain quicker. I look on as the Portkey is lying all the way across the yard, too far for me to run to. Too far for me to summon it without it being unnoticed. Harry is grunting and groaning at the pain he is feeling and I make a fist, close my eyes, take a deep breath as I stop myself from snarling at him.

I see Hermione behind my closed lids.

. . .

 _"Harry Potter!" He said, louder this time. I watched as Hermione pushed Harry towards me. She gave me a familiar look, as if she were asking for a favor._

 _I understood, and nodded my head so that only she can see. She let go a sigh of relief and mouthed 'Thank you,' to me. Beside me, my hands turned into fists. Who dare risk the life of a fourteen year old, and then make my friend uncomfortable. Harry stood beside me. If she asked for it, I would give Hermione the world._

 _But for now, I'll stick to what she really wants me to do, and I shall give my life to complete it if need be. She wants something done, I'll do it for her. And right now, she wants me to protect Harry Potter from the dangers of this tournament. Her wish is my command._

. . .

I opened my eyes to see words being exchanged between Voldemort, Wormtail with a new silver hand, and a circle of Death Eaters. Voldemort seemed to be _scolding or chastising_ the group for giving up on him, and he even went as far as to curse one of them for begging him for forgiveness.

"Excuse me," I say, clearing my throat, "but it seems as though we are no longer needed," I pull Harry up and have him throw an arm around my shoulders, "so we'll just be going…" suddenly, I drop to my knees as a blinding flash of pain is distributed throughout my body. I grip my head, grinding my teeth together, trying, _trying,_ to not give the killers of my father the satisfaction of watching me writhe and scream and shout in pain. Something that seems so tempting.

. . .

 **Third Person**

Hermione felt a small sharp pain in the back of her head, and not moments later, a sharp pain exploded throughout her back. The pain wasn't big enough to actually hurt _her,_ but it seemed as though she were feeling a pain that wasn't hers but someone else's, and whoever was feeling this pain was _in pain._

"If anything is up with Percy, we'd know."

"How?"

"The Bond."

"The what now?"

Hermione could've sworn that the blonde rolled her eyes.

"The Bond. Warriors of the rank of Guardians or above create a bond with the one they cherish the most. This person is someone they will both live and die for. Their loyalty is all for this one person. The Bond helps to alert them when one or the other is in trouble. Right now, if something were up with Percy, whoever he bonded with would know."

"Um… what?"

"Basically, if Percy were hurt, the Bond would alert whoever he bonded with by simulating 1/5 of whatever emotion he were feeling right now to the unaffected bonded person. Like pain, hatred, anger, relief, or love. The Bond is also to help guarantee the warrior ranked Guardian or higher always has someone they can trust, for our work requires us to bear burdens we cannot bear alone."

"Annabeth, what if Percy _didn't_ 'bond' with anyone? Or at least with anyone here?"

Hermione suddenly feels—deep down—the sudden feeling of emptiness and hopelessness. She feels the ghost-like pain in her heart and gasps, clawing at her heart only to feel it safely in her chest, beating. She sighs in relief.

"The Bond doesn't have to be between lovers, per se. It could also be created between two best friends, or a relative. Trust me. Percy has had to definitely bonded with someone for him to risk his life and attend this school. Now we just need to find out who is the lucky or not so lucky guy or gal."

"Guy?"

"Yes, Thalia, guy. Maybe Percy bonded with someone he considers a brother or something. Duh."

Just then, Hermione felt an immense pain spread throughout her whole body. She opened her mouth and gasped, holding her head as though someone were knocking a hammer around in her head. She tried to stand, only to fall to her knees in front of the two figures—Thalia and Annabeth did they say? —and watched as they both frowned at each other. It felt as though she weren't _experiencing_ the pain, because her body did not hurt, but someone else's pain was echoing into her body and she was simply gaining the knowledge.

Like how someone winces when they watch someone else hurt.

"Oh Merlin. Either this girl is _just now_ suffering a severe hangover, or Percy's in some deep shi—"

"Just help her up."

"It's Percy," Hermione gasped through the pain as Annabeth and Thalia helped her into her seat. "He's—he's in trouble."

Hermione couldn't imagine what Percy must be going through, if the blonde girl were right, this is only 1/5 or less of the pain he is currently feeling.

. . .

 **Percy:**

The blinding pain became too much. Harry now stood over me, wand in hand, glaring at the source of my pain. I sniffed, and tasted the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

My nose started to bleed.

That's it! My body has been undergoing the Cruciatus Curse for far too long and is slowly shutting down. The thought nearly sent me over the edge. _Hermione,_ I thought. _Think of Hermione. Merlin, what would that girl do if she were me?_ The excruciating pain continued, and I pulled my head between my knees, my hands protecting my ears from hearing my own screams and shouts. _"Stop!"_ I nearly begged. _"Please! Stop!" Haven't you already done enough?_

I crawl towards the group, my head down with my right hand holding my right ear. Once I reached one of the robed and masked Death Eaters, I was kicked in the ribs, only adding to my pain. The group laughed and chuckled darkly as they kicked and passed me to another Death Eater, who proceeded to punch me in the face and casted a spell, knocking me to the other side of the circle. Once again, the group laughed. Finally, _finally,_ my pain was taken away as Voldemort pulled back on the curse. I looked down at the ground and watched, as if in slow motion, a tear stained the ground. Then, I felt something trickle down my forehead and meet with the blood from my nose, mixing, and falling to the ground together.

"…love for her child, _saved_ him, and as I cast the Killing Curse and it rebounded…"

I panted. Looking up, I found Harry standing and panting, eyes glaring daggers at Voldemort. I as well wished I could actually glare a dagger at Voldemort, and kill him.

Killing him would be killing Harry, and ultimately, me.

"…so how about it, Harry?" What did I miss?

. . .

 **Third Person:**

"Harry used to be _untouchable,_ The Boy Who Lived. But no longer is he The Boy Who Lived, he is now The Boy Who Will Die. I can touch you now, Harry," Percy had blacked out from the pain, not even realizing it. Voldemort, to prove his point, stepped forward and touched—with a single finger—Harry's scar. The contact hurt Harry at first, but then the pain subsided as he realized one thing: _I am vulnerable._ The contact had hurt him without causing any affect to Voldemort. The contact had only caused Harry a pinch of pain for only a second before fading.

Harry soon realized, that to prove who was the stronger wizard, Voldemort was now challenging him to a duel. He looked to the middle of the Death Eater circle to find Percy coming to, and gulped.

"…so how about it, Harry?"

. . .


	10. Chapter 10

"Where's the pain originating from, do you know?"

"E-everywhere. It's coming from everywhere."

"Oh, Merlin," Thalia cursed, "can you… can you _see_ what's going on?"

"No. It's as though something is…" she scrunched her eyebrows and crinkled her nose, searching for the right word, " _blocking_ me. As though, as though I can only take a small peek and something is keeping me from seeing everything."

. . .

 **Percy:**

I watched in utter horror as Harry stepped to a side of the circle. Voldemort decreed for the Death Eaters to spread out. The little bastards did as ordered.

 _Hermione,_ I thought hard, _Hermione! Think of Hermione goddamnit! Would she want for me to let him die?_

"S-st-stop," I finally grunt. I catch everyone by surprise, including the caster of the Cruciatus Curse, causing the end of my pain. "Stop," I repeat, dragging myself to my feet.

Voldemort turns around to face me, and Harry looks up to me, both are smiling.

For different reasons.

He steps forward with that malicious grin of his, wand at the ready. "He is just a child," I say, "it would not be fair for him to fight against the great Dark Lord," I nearly gag at my own words.

"Silence!" He orders, casting a rope to tie around my neck. "The boy and I shall have a duel. Does anyone else here agree with this insolent child?" He flicks his wand skyward, my body following.

My throat feels constricted, and I can no longer continue to swallow the dark blood that pools into my mouth.

I am drowning in the one thing that keeps me alive.

I slowly feel my wand slipping, slipping from my bloody fingertips.

And then, I close my eyes.

I see Annabeth and Thalia, in cloaks, looking down at— _me?_ —worriedly.

"I think he's reaching through," my cousin says. Annabeth nods her head.

"Percy. Percy what's going on?" I hear them ask. Her lips are not in sync with her words, but it will do.

I skip the obvious. They had come to collect me so together we may run, run far from the Guardian Realm's reach. _"Not… enough… time…"_ I think to them. I hear an angel's voice echo my words.

" _He's back. He's got Harry. A-and me. I don't…"_ I have to spit out blood to prolong my asphyxiation. _"I_ will _get Harry back to you guys. I think my number is up."_

"No! No, Percy—"

The connection is broken. And then, I am alone again.

"Let him go! Let him go and I'll—I'll fight you."

"Harry," I choke out, "don't," my wand falls.

"Very well," Voldemort says. His figure has blurred and blended in with the background, and I can't see where he ends and begins. As soon as I'm dropped to the ground, I tuck and roll, picking up my wand and cast off a spell to keep the Death Eaters at bay. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, kneeling to catch my breath. When I open them everything is sharpened by 100%, I can see everything from the ants crawling around many yards away from me, to the droplets of sweat forming on the tip of my nose. All the sharp, jagged lines and soft, smooth curves are in my sight. I watch as Harry takes a step back in shock, for he can no longer see my pupils.

"A Veteran I see," Voldemort begins to laugh, and I can't help but to chuckle at the irony.

These were the very last words he had said to my father before he killed him with the simple gesture of a flick of his wand.

"How's Daddy doing?" He taunted.

I ignored him and proceeded to cast curse after curse, jinx after jinx, spell after spell. He deflected them all, and suddenly I felt my whole body go rigid and stiffen as something hits me from behind.

"I presume they have taught you how to duel, yes? First, we bow to each other," as he explained this, he demonstrates with a bow of his own. Harry continued to stand, fear in his eyes, panting as he looked around for an escape. "Come on now, Harry the niceties must be observed. You wouldn't want to dishonour Dumbledore." With a horrifying calm tone, he says, "Come on Harry, I said, bow," Harry gives up a small Yelp as he is forced to bow. I grit my teeth. "That's better," he starts, before turning into a growl and starting to speed walk to Harry, "And now…" I turn my head away as he forces Harry to the floor using the Cruciatus Curse. He continues to rant on about how he wants to look Harry in the eye as the light slowly drains out of them.

I look a little ways off to the left of Voldemort, where I see my father, smiling at a little pink bundle in his arms. He looks up to me, a smile never fading and the twinkle in his eyes never dimming.

" _Protect Harry,"_ he says, rocking back and forth for the comfort of the baby. _"Harry is the key. You_ must _protect the boy. He needs your skill. Remember what I have taught you. It is not yet your time, my boy. Merlin shall not permit it. It is not yet time for you to reunite with I, nor is it time for you to come home to your baby sister. Not yet. You have a powerful soul, and an equally powerful wand,_ use it _,"_ His smile turns into a small, sad smile.

" _I am proud of you, son."_ He fades away. I am set free from my paralyzation and jump over to Harry's side, where I see him conversing with Merlin knows who. There is an aura around the two as Harry fights to keep the Killing Curse away.

"No!" He shouts, thrusting his wand forward, disagreeing with the spirits of the dead. "I have to defeat him. Once and for all. Before he gets too strong."

"Harry!" I slam my hands into his shoulders, sending him all my power. "Harry! Trust me I know how it feels. I may not have as much time as you do, but listen to me, Harry. Listen to me! He _will_ get stronger, but so will you! So will Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Fred and George and _everyone!_ But in order for that to happen, in order for there to be hope that Voldemort will be gone for good one day, we _must_ return to Hogwarts. I do not have much time, listen to me Harry. Come on!"

I can feel a tightening in my chest, my enhanced eyesight noting the advancement of the Killing Curse toward Harry and I. "Harry," I start, "on three we run to the PortKey." I close my eyes, summoning all my inner strength for what I am about to do.

"One," I say, readying my wand. My muscles are tense and my heart feels heavy.

"Two," I continue the countdown, my mind clearing and focusing on the task at hand.

" _Three,"_ the word barely pasts my lips in a whisper, and Harry lets go just as I stare Voldemort down, for merely a second, before I set my eyes on his and cast my spell.

His eyes widen in shock. And so does Harry's.

I pray Hermione does not see.

I turn on my heel, adrenaline still pumping through my veins as I sprint toward Harry, my once tense muscles starting to loosen as I feel the aftermath of the spell wear off. I am suddenly aware of the pool of blood in my mouth, the multiple cuts on my lip, my sprained ankle, my perhaps broken ribs, and my tight throat.

But no injury can overweigh the heaviness of my dark, damned soul.

" _Accio,"_ is all I hear as I touch Harry's shoulder, slump over his form to protect him from any spells, and succumb to the pain of my injuries.

The sounds of my screams only last a few seconds before I am able to pass out, still protecting Harry.

 **Third Person:**

Music plays as Harry returns, carefully placing Percy on the floor. Blood quickly begins to trickle from the unconscious boy's mouth. Everyone stood and cheered: "Harry! Harry! Harry!" Though the boy being praised did nothing to stand from his kneel beside his friend. The scene from the graveyard was on a loop in his mind, his ears not believing what they heard. His eyes refusing to believe Percy even opened his mouth at all. His heart was pounding, and quite distantly, he noticed the boy's eyes were still open, and his dark pupils had returned. Cautiously, he removed the wand from Percy's hand, making sure a good foot was between the hand and wand. Though he was sure the intended target for the spell well deserved what he got, he did not like to play with Death. He believed that was something that only the Reaper and his Scythe can decide whom deserves to receive the touch of the cold steel or who shall live in blissful ignorance.

He looked up from his glare to the floor, revealing the sight of the boy. Fleur Delacour, who had been walking forward with a smile to congratulate the winner, suddenly screamed in horror at the sight of the presumably dead boy. It took minutes for the cry to reach the ears of the overwhelming crowd, and suddenly all was silent.

Percy's sleeve had been torn off in the adventure, revealing his bloody tattoo. Hermione was one of the first to react, running forward to aid the young man. Ron was second to react, only out of jealousy and defiance to hold Hermione back. Thalia—not liking the boy, or boys in general—shoved him off with a glare, causing him to gulp. The three of them continued to run forward, Hermione at a sprint. When she was merely a foot away she slid to her knees beside him, carefully setting his head into her lap. Harry had been pulled away from Percy's body, Without a fight for Percy had terrified him to no end with his power. Two men stood forward, preparing to pull Hermione, Thalia, and Annabeth away when Dumbledore ordered for the girls to be left alone. Thalia and Annabeth took a defensive stance in front of the two, preparing for a fight from the Guardians of the Guardian Realm.

Hermione was frantically wiping away at the blood leaking from Percy's mouth, and when she realized her sleeve was of no use she searched her pockets for a handkerchief. When she found none, she searched his pockets for the one she knew he always kept with him.

Instead, she pulled out half a seashell.

It was nearly a perfect match for the one she herself held possession of, if not for the small chip that seemed to be collateral damage from tonight's fight.

" _Hi!" A bright young boy with a missing tooth and sea green irises greeted. Hermione had been reading one of her favorite books during recess of Primary, when he walked up to her. "My name is Alexander. What's yours?"_

" _Hermione. Hermione Granger."_

 _. . ._

" _Come on, 'Mione. What's life without a little adventure? Please, it's just a mile hike. I'll protect you from everything. I promise."_

 _. . ._

" _Mommy and Daddy are moving. I have to go with them. Today's our last day here. I'm sorry. But hey! We're best friends and nothing ever gets in the way of best friends. And in order to declare our best-friendship," he puffed out his chest and Hermione couldn't help but giggle, "I, Perseus—" Hermione was surprised he said his full name, since she knew he preferred it when she called him Alex. No one else was allowed to call him Alex but her, "—Alexander Jackson, hereby declare Hermione Jean Granger as my forever best friend. And as a piece of evidence to seal the bond, I present to her half of my favorite seashell, and I will always carry the other half everywhere I go with me." He handed her her half of the seashell. She looked up at him with a sparkle in his eyes, remembering the first day she had gone over to his house and he prohibited anyone from touching his favorite seashell. They hugged each other until it was time to go._

 _. . ._

 _"The pleasure was all mine, I insist." She started to walk away before he remembered one last thing. "Oh and Miss Granger?" she turned around, a little surprised. He smiled at her, "What's life without a little adventure?" and he walked away._

 _. . ._

 _"Perseus Alexander Jackson!" Hermione stepped back, shocked at Sally's statement._

 _. . ._

Hermione felt a tear slip away from its sheath as she put the pieces together. She wiped away furiously at it, determination set in her eyes as she continued to heal Percy to the best of her abilities.

"Step aside, Guardian Chase and Guardian Grace."

Hermione looked up, to find the cruel eyes of Jean staring down right at her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Last time on The Man From Darkness:**

" _Hi!" A bright young boy with a missing tooth and sea green irises greeted. Hermione had been reading one of her favorite books during recess of Primary, when he walked up to her. "My name is Alexander. What's yours?"_

" _Hermione. Hermione Granger."_

 _. . ._

" _Come on, 'Mione. What's life without a little adventure? Please, it's just a mile hike. I'll protect you from everything. I promise."_

 _. . ._

" _Mommy and Daddy are moving. I have to go with them. Today's our last day here. I'm sorry. But hey! We're best friends and nothing ever gets in the way of best friends. And in order to declare our best-friendship," he puffed out his chest and Hermione couldn't help but giggle, "I, Perseus—" Hermione was surprised he said his full name, since she knew he preferred it when she called him Alex. No one else was allowed to call him Alex but her, "—Alexander Jackson, hereby declare Hermione Jean Granger as my forever best friend. And as a piece of evidence to seal the bond, I present to her half of my favorite seashell, and I will always carry the other half everywhere I go with me." He handed her her half of the seashell. She looked up at him with a sparkle in his eyes, remembering the first day she had gone over to his house and he prohibited anyone from touching his favorite seashell. They hugged each other until it was time to go._

 _. . ._

 _"The pleasure was all mine, I insist." She started to walk away before he remembered one last thing. "Oh and Miss Granger?" she turned around, a little surprised. He smiled at her, "What's life without a little adventure?" and he walked away._

 _. . ._

 _"Perseus Alexander Jackson!" Hermione stepped back, shocked at Sally's statement._

 _. . ._

Hermione felt a tear slip away from its sheath as she put the pieces together. She wiped away furiously at it, determination set in her eyes as she continued to heal Percy to the best of her abilities.

"Step aside, Guardian Chase and Guardian Grace."

Hermione looked up, to find the cruel eyes of Jean staring down right at her.

 **. . .**

 **Now:**

"No."

Annabeth's voice was deathly calm, eerily so that sent shivers down Hermione's back.

"Pardon?" Jean raised a brow, obviously irked by the show of disrespect.

"In Section 382 of the guidelines for being a Guardian, it clearly states: _'A_ Bondee _to any and all Guardians of rank Guardian and above are placed under the protection of the Guardian member and of Merlin Himself. If harm is to come to a_ Bondee _, the criminal can and will be subjected to the penalty of Death By A Thousand Cuts. Even those in the highest ranks of the Guardian Realm may suffer by the hands of the_ Bonder _and will lose their position to said_ Bonder _. If the criminal has bonded, he or she will be forced to watch as_ Bondee _of the criminal suffers the same fate as the wronged_ Bondee _by the hands of the wronged_ Bonder _.'"_

Jean blinked, as though the surge of information from such a worshipped ancient writing of the Guardian Realm being recited to him in perfect grammar and with ease was unexpected from a Guardian such as Annabeth Chase.

"Alexander Jackson is no longer of the Guardian Realm, therefore, it is simply _impossible_ for the boy to have bonded."

"If I remember correctly," Thalia glared, "you _temporarily_ relieved him of his position to 'get his head screwed back on' so technically, he is a Veteran Great Guardian. Therefore, he may return to the field _as he wishes_ and may even claim his rightful place within the Elder Circle to fill in the space the loss of his father created. Hermione Jean Granger has been placed under the care and protection of the Olympian Coven. Her and her family must not be harmed or wronged by the hand of those belonging to or related to members of the Guardian Realm. If anyone so much as _lifts a finger_ in her direction, there will be war."

Jean began to shake. His eyes darkened in his rage as he lifted his hand, his snarling lips curling into a curse. The Guardians and Officers behind him tensed, reaching into their cloaks and pulling out their wands, flanking their Great Elder. Annabeth and Thalia tensed, as did Harry. Ron could be seen cowering in the background, eyes flitting back and forth searching for an exit. Dumbledore was preparing to step forward.

Jean swiped his wand as his lips formed the last of the word, and before anyone— _anyone_ —could even blink, a blue figure blurred in front of Hermione, effectively protecting her. The figure had moved so fast that no one had enough time to react to what happened next.

Perseus reached out, growling as he did so, and snatched the throat of his former Elder Guardian. "Hermione Granger _will not_ be harmed. As long as I and my coven stand she and her descendants shall forever be protected from you and your filthy followers. Is that understood? My father may no longer be around but as heir to the throne I, Perseus Alexander Jackson, hereby claim my rightful place on the Elder Circle of Elder Guardians. Hermione Jean Granger will be active as my _Bondee_ and _will not be harmed_ ," he turned to face the inferiors, "is that understood? Any harm done to her will be done to you and your _Bondee_ in return alongside _Death By A Thousand Cuts._ And that, is my word, and from now on, my word is law, understood?" Percy spoke with such ferocity that blood was spit into Great Elder Jean's face. Jean's companions swallowed as they sheathed their wands and took a knee, right fist to their heart as they bowed their heads, "Understood, Great Elder Alexander Jackson," they chorused. Percy released Jean's throat, causing him to fall to the ground, choking. His dark slender form towering over Jean's cowering, shrinking shadow.

Professor Dumbledore stepped forward, clearing his throat, "I think it best, Jean, that you leave Hogwarts grounds."

Jean nodded scornfully as he spit at the ground at Percy's feet before proceeding to—as if the rules of Hogwarts did not apply to him—disapparate. Percy nodded before turning to face Jean's followers. Hermione stepped forward at the same time he did, standing right behind him to catch him as he fell, his injuries from very recent events catching up to him.

"Dismissed," he barely panted out, before slumping against his _Bondee._ Using the Bond, Percy "borrowed" Hermione's strength, though only enough to be able to stand beside her, his arm over her shoulders as she supported his weight.

"Harry," he suddenly breathed, "Harry, is he, is he okay?"

"Now now, Percy, please allow Ms. Granger to help you get to the infirmary. Harry will be fine, Professor Moody came to collect him and patch him up. For now I believe you three have some… _catching up_ to do."

"Yes, yes," Percy waved his hand in a dismissive manor, "some catching up to do. Thalia, can you please get Harry? I don't… Professor Dumbledore _someone_ has to go check on Harry and I trust Guardian Grace to do so as Ms. Granger and I speak to Guardian Chase."

"Very well, Perseus. Make it quick. Anyone who knows of the Guardian Realm wouldn't like a Guardian roaming the halls of Hogwarts unsupervised."

"Thank you," Percy gave a small bow of his head. Annabeth turned to whisper something into Thalia's ear, said girl nodding in response and dashing off in the direction Harry was dragged to as Annabeth turned to Percy, purposefully ignoring the girl holding him up.

Annabeth stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Percy, and carried him—leaving Hermione behind—to the infirmary. Hermione scoffed as she followed.

 **Hey guys! I have tumblr and only recently have started posting please check it out! My blog is writing-soothes-the-pain. Link in my profile! Happy holidays.**


	12. Chapter 12

He was spiraling. His mind made circles and spun, causing him to lose his composure as he fell, fell, _fell._ His tall 6'1 stature remained strong, tall and proud, towering above his schoolmates and friends, as his mind did the perfect impression of a muggle aircraft taking a nose dive into the Bermuda Triangle. Percy was losing himself to the darkness of war.

The ringing in his ears was a welcomed discomfort, as opposed to the screams of his fallen comrades, his wailing mother who had fallen into a rabbit hole of despair for the misfortune of her stillborn, the silent pain of his father, carried out during his last breath, and of his mind pounding, screaming, and internally berating him for bringing danger to the girl he loves.

Loves.

 _Merlin,_ he had utterly fallen for the girl behind him.

He loved her.

But Percy did not have the time to dwell on his last thought. He had barely registered his surroundings before he murmured, "He's back." This did not surprise Annabeth. She had already discarded his shirt and healed his wounds and was already sheathing her wand when he finally spoke. "I know," she nodded. She looked into the eyes of the boy she once loved, the boy who had once loved her in return. She couldn't help but notice how _empty_ he looked. She sighed as she helped him pull his tattered shirt back on, only for modesty if anything.

"He's back," the broken boy uttered. The girl pulled him into a hug, running a hand through his unruly, blood-caked hair. She kissed his forehead, then his cheek, in consolation as his body shuddered against hers. "I'm sorry," is all she was able to muster.

"Me too."

The pair had momentarily forgotten about the fifteen-year-old standing only a yard away, falling into old habits. "God, Beth, I've missed you," Percy hugged the girl tighter to his chest. "I've missed you too, Seaweed Brain. And don't call me Beth." The two old lovers chuckled at the half-hearted reprimand. They let each other go, their hardened selves coming back to the surface.

"Jean wants you dead."

"I know."

"You just claimed your seat on the Elder Circle."

"I know. I was there."

"Perseus! This is serious."

"I know, Wise Girl, I know."

"You've Bonded."

"I'm sorry," and in sincerity, Percy bowed his head. He inclined his head in the general direction of Hermione, who had remained quiet during the reunion. "'Mione?" He asked, tilting his head. The girl faintly blushed when she realized she had been caught, and the tint to her cheeks strengthened when she realized this, undoubtedly, pretty blonde girl was Percy's ex-girlfriend. Her heart raced when she saw both of them looking at her. She tilted her head in silent response. "Alex?" She relayed. She saw Annabeth raise a curious and impressed brow at the boy and tried and nearly failed to keep her smug smile in check.

"Come here."

She sighed but gave in as she accepted his half hug, nuzzling her forehead to the side of his neck and rubbing her nose against his shoulder. She failed to notice Annabeth's white knuckles. "Are you okay?" She nodded her head in response to his selfless question. "Were you hurt?" He lifted her chin using his index finger and thumb, and the young girl could not help the blood rising to her cheeks at how _intimate_ this moment was quickly becoming. Her heartrate rocketed at how close their faces were, and she quickly forced herself to look away. "I'm fine, Alex. Harry seemed more shook up than you do now. What happened?"

Percy sighed as he dragged a hand down his bloody face. "I can't explain right now. I think Harry is in trouble, which is why I sent Thalia to check on him. So far you, her, Ron, and Harry are the only people I can trust right now."

"How do you know? What do you mean?"

"When Harry's name was Chosen, I 'attacked' him afterward to catch him by surprise and used a small bit of Legilimency to make sure A) his mind wasn't already being navigated through, and B) this was Harry and not some fraud. I did the same with Ron, and I know you and Thalia are, well, you and Thalia because of your defiance and... insider's info of the Guardian Realm and my own personal experiences. And with Hermione, well, I Bonded with her and the connection obviously came through for us so there's that."

"Those are private thoughts! You can't just—"

" _Yes,_ I can. And I did, I had to make sure everyone is who they claim to be. The only person I haven't scanned is..."

"Mad-Eye Moody," Annabeth cut in.

" _Alastor_ Moody, yes," Percy corrected, glancing at her. "And I am pretty sure he is not who he claims to be."

 **. . .**

" _Do you think that miserable oaf would've sent you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it? Do you think Cedric Diggory would've told you to open the egg underwater if I hadn't told him first myself? Do you think Neville Longbottom, the witless wonder, could've provided you with gillyweed if I hadn't given him the book that led him straight to it? Huh?!"_

Percy and Annabeth strode through the halls, in front of Hermione, as to form a protective barrier. The boy's eyebrows creased together as he noticed the professors gathered around the door. "Why haven't we entered?" He asked, knowing a spell had been cast to quiet their presence. "We are waiting for him to reveal himself, hush now, I believe the Polyjuice Potion is wearing off now." The Guardians and professors all shared a look. Dumbledore raised his wand to open the door, Percy raised his (despite his companions' protests) wand to attack Moody's imposter, and Snape prepared to use the Veritaserum potion he had brewed prior to this moment.

"… _mad!"_

" _Mad, am I? We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him — and now — I conquer you!"_

Dumbledore shouted out the incantation to open the heavy door, as Percy strode in next, shouting _Incarcerous_ and not a second later, Bartemius Crouch Jr. was bound to a chair, his restraints viciously ripping into his skin as he tried to yank himself free.

"Behind me, Mr. Potter. Quickly, quickly," Harry ran to the protection Professor McGonagall offered, confused and dazed as ever. He was panting with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. His heart sped up at the prospect of having nearly suffered the same fate as his parents. He felt Hermione pulling him back by the arms, behind an unknown blonde in unfamiliar garments, and another unfamiliar girl with black spiky hair. _Who are they?_ He inwardly wondered. He noticed the one with the blonde hair was protectively close to Percy, and his brows scrunched together in thought.

"Who are they?" He whispered to Hermione.

"Friends of Percy," she responded. They watched as Percy _seethed,_ wand pointing threateningly at Jr.'s neck. They watched as Snape practically shoved some of the potion into his mouth, and listened to the tennis match of questions and answers asked by the adults and answered by the imposter.

"Where is he?"

After Alastor's location was given, Percy glanced back at his fellow Guardians, sharing a curt nod with the two girls. Like soldiers, Harry stepped aside as the girl confidently strutted past him, shoulders squared, chin up, wand in hand. She stopped beside the blonde girl, who mirrored her composure, and together they walked in sync to the trunk. Thalia held her wand at the ready as Annabeth unlatched the locks. In the background, the interrogation continued.

"Why did Voldemort send you here? Why now?"

 _"Because his time is up."_ Percy growled at the sinister smile taking over the Death Eater's face, and with no restraint, he wound back his fist, thrusting it forward, his knuckles splitting the skin at his victim's nose open, sending his head reeling back. The chair tipped backward, and the other occupants in the room rushed forward to assist the Death Eater in finding his balance in the chair once again. Blood gushed from his nose and flooded his mouth, though no one made a move to heal him. _"You. Son. Of. A._ Bitch!" Each word was enforced with a wild punch. Hermione scrambled forward to stop him when the others failed at doing so. "Who are _you_ to decide whose time it is? I'll play along! Well you little mother—"

 _"Alexander!"_ Bartemius' eyes widened at the legendary name.

"—now it's _your_ turn!"

And as a wand was raised menacingly, a sharp cry of laughter bounced off the walls of the small room. A head was thrown back in hysterics, and a bloody fist was held back.

"Is _that_ why you're here? Revenge for daddy?"

"You sick—"

"Alexander, you and the others shall take Alastor and Harry to the Medical Wing. We will take it from here and make sure he is dealt with accordingly. Ms. Granger, you are to either report back to your House tower along with Mr. Weasley and your housemates or remain with Alexander at all times until he says otherwise. Guardians, I thank you for your assistance. Please feel free to indulge yourself in all Hogwarts has to offer. You are safe here." The three Guardians nodded their heads respectively, and in sync. The two younger students bowed their heads and followed the older three out of the room, Percy and Annabeth helping Alastor along to the Medical Wing.

"'Mione, I need you to go to Gryffindor Tower. Get some rest. I am sure with these past events they will be sending students home, though maybe the Ministry of Magic will try to sweep this under the rug. I am not sure. Get some rest, I am sorry for any pain I caused you today."

Her eyes quickly flickered to the blonde before she looked back at the tired boy, licking her lips before opening them to respond.

"Not worth it, kid. Just do what he says. Perce is a... stubborn person. Stuck up too if you ask me."

"Thalia," Percy tried, though the tone of his voice suggested this was an ever-going war between the two, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to win. The girl let out a small chuckle before setting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I'll make sure she gets to bed, sir," she mock saluted. Alastor mustered an eye roll, Annabeth bit her lip in an attempt to fight off a smile, and Percy shook his head.

Harry was just plain lost.

"Who _are_ you people? And how do you know each other?"

Annabeth and Alastor looked at Percy, "You didn't tell him?"

" _What?_ I didn't have the time. I was too busy trying to save our arses!"

"Ugh! You're insufferable sometimes!"

"Yeah well it's very hard to say _'oh by the way I used to work in a secret society called the Guardian Realm and basically, I've—we've—been fighting the same war for years now and I've been training and fighting since the age of seven. So, don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here in top shape!'_ when Voldemort is trying to kill you for the second time!"

"Second time?"

"Yes, Harry, second time. And please excuse me Wise Girl for my failures," Percy deadpanned.

"Can someone please explain to me why—"

"Okay, okay. But you need to start working on your priorities."

"Yes, mom."

"I'm serious."

"Can someone please explain to me how Percy was perfectly able to execute the Killing Curse even _after_ being under the Cruciatus Curse for nearly an _hour_ and still be awake right now?! Sane? Functioning?"

"Not now, Harry. They have to make sure Moody is okay."

Annabeth looked over at Percy, taking notice to how he subtly clutched his abdomen. The distance between him and his _Bondee_ was too taxing. Now that he had Bonded, he had the ability to quickly heal, though judging by the way the young girl insisted on leaving him alone, Annabeth figured she did not know of this leverage Bonded couples have. She shifted Alastor's weight more to her, using her familial Bond with Thalia to signal to her to switch places with Percy. She did.

"You go on ahead with those two. We'll take care of Moody. Go. You need to rest more than you say."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now go. We'll catch Alastor up and you can do the same with the kids," Harry and Hermione both clenched their teeth at the word "kids", " _after_ you rest, _correctly._ "

"Yes ma'am." He offered a chaste kiss on the cheek to his cousin and friend. Thalia playfully stuck her tongue out at him as Annabeth turned to hide the pink tint in her cheeks. "It's good to have you back, Moody," he clasped the man's shoulder. Alastor Moody nodded his head in reciprocation.

"Okay," he turned on his heel to face Hermione and Harry, "I guess, to the common room?" Under Annabeth's silent order, he made sure to have his arm around Hermione or to be holding her hand the whole time as he led the two younger Gryffindors to the common room.

Hermione did not object.

 _ **. . .**_

" _Grover? Nico? Come in, come in! It's been a while since we've last talked."_

" _Hi. Yes it has—thank you—Sally," Grover pursed his lips as Nico shuffled along, mug already halfway empty due to his anxiety._

" _Sally," Grover continued, "Sally, something's happened back at Hogwarts, but Percy is fine. We are here for something more than a social call." He gestured for Nico's mother figure to take a seat. Both boys looked at one another, but Nico, practically Percy's younger brother, stepped forward._

" _We've found another charm. But you're not going to like_ how _we found it."_

" _Where?" Suddenly Sally's features were hardened, determined. She knew the charms her son held now were wearing off._

" _Jean. He—he has the last two we need. But… they're not his."_

" _Sally, your husband was the last owner of the two charms that are going to save your son's life._

" _And he's alive."_

"… _and he's right outside."_

 _ **Special thanks to IcyFox17, who's reviews I read that inspired me to write this chapter. Also a thanks to all of you who've stuck by me and waited for this chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait. And sorry to those who've asked a question in review that I did not answer, I do hope the chapters following your reviews did help answer your questions though. If not feel free to review and ask and I'll answer as soon as possible. Thank you so much. Hope you enjoyed this read. (And don't thank me for this chapter, or, not only me. Thank yourselves and my friend for practically tying me to a chair and forcing me to do something I enjoy, which is writing something you guys will enjoy. Have a nice weekend.)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**It's my birthday! Well, I hope anyway. Truth is I'm writing this on 7/17/18 hoping I post this on my actual birthday. I dunno. Hopefully, this chapter will help me break out of my writer's block. In case it's not 7/25 when I post this…. Um… hey…(?)**

"No."

Grover and Nico looked at one another hesitantly, unaware of the steps they should take in such an occasion.

"Mom…" Nico stepped forward, setting his mug down with a frown. He followed Sally as she frantically shuffled over into the kitchen, pulling a fresh tray of cookies and setting them on a large plate.

"No, just no, okay? Nico—Nico, whoever is out there, he's _not_ my husband. My husband wouldn't fake his death for _two years._ "

"Mom—Sally, he's been my father since I was _five._ For nearly a decade you and Poseidon have raised me and Bianca, and we're really thankful for that, really. We've already tested him, he's who he says he is. Please, give him a chance."

Sally heaved a sigh, drumming her fingers on the counter in a nervous habit. Her eyes continuously flickered between her the boy she viewed as a son and the door. Giving a glance toward Grover, a look that asked for protection should anything go wrong, her shoulders sagged. "Alright," she said, chomping down on a soft, warm cookie, "let him in."

"You expect us to believe those bloody lies?"

Percy sighed as he shook his head at Ron's small outburst. After he, Harry, and Hermione had arrived at Gryffindor tower, the two boys had changed into a fresh set of clothes and summoned Ron to the common room. Percy promptly explained the situation to the three younger students. He rolled up the sleeves to his black shirt, a sudden itchiness and burn on his forearm.

"You have a bloody Death Mark! He has a Death Mark, why are we supposed to believe him?"

Percy could feel his patience running thin, the little space between him and his _Bondee_ almost teasing as he could feel the toll of today's events once again taking over his body.

"Oh! And he performed the Killing Curse. Harry told me. How do we know he's not one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's servants?"

" _Ron,"_ Percy panted out, dragging his hand down his face. Hermione tilted her head to the side, opening her mouth to ask—

"Alexander has single-handedly saved all of our lives countless times, yours included, ginger-head. He's been training with us since the mere age of five, a whopping five-year head-start from the rest of us. He's been on more missions than most Elder Guardians. If you appreciate your life, it'd do you damn good to be on _his_ side of the wand. I wouldn't wish Percy's wrath on my worst enemies. Well…"

"Who are _you_?"

"Great Guardian Thalia Grace of Sector 0315, lieutenant of the Huntress Guild, scion of the Olympian Coven."

"What does any of that mean?"

"I've been in the Guardian Realm for longer than five years, and have been in more than fifteen successful missions, thus, the title 'Great Guardian'. I am of Sector 0315, or New York State. I am under the guidance of Elder Guardian Artemis, leader of the Huntresses. I was born into the Olympian Coven, a group of families such as the di Angelo's and the Jacksons, that have been around since the establishment of the Guardian Realm. Percy is one of the five most powerful wizards in the Realm, myself and Great Guardian Chase amongst those five."

"But I've never heard of the Guardian Realm until today."

Annabeth then walked into the room, a resemblance between the three Guardians showing. The three younger students noted the guarded, faux relaxed masks on their faces, the tension in each of their backs, the overall regality their auras held. "Then it seems we've been doing our job correctly," the blonde finally stated.

"If you don't mind," Hermione started, "how is it that you three seem familiar with each other, but you seem to be of different… guilds?"

Surprisingly, Annabeth answered Hermione directly. "Each guild specializes in one area. My guild, led by Elder Guardian Athen, focuses on intelligence, information gathering, skill, and teamwork. Everything that has to do with knowledge, the Athenian Guild is who to go to. Percy's guild focuses on combat, technique, power, precision, and basically most fieldwork. If you want someone to get the job done quickly and efficiently, the Atlantis Guild is who to call. Thalia's guild focuses on interrogation, marksmanship, teamwork, combat, and stealth. All traits you would associate with a great hunter, the Huntress Guild has. As to not drag on, each team is made up of one to two members of each guild. Travis and Connor are experts in disguise and distractions. Clarisse is an expert in weapons, combat, and munitions. Nico is an expert in networking, his family held many connections and he was able to hide within shadows, remaining unseen. Grover is our peacekeeper, as Will is our healer."

Percy joined in. "Everyone was given one general order: keep the peace between muggles and wizards. In order to do just that, we had to create teams that were perfect for fighting when needed, perfect for protection, defense, information gathering, blending in—anything. Each team was put together so that together they can be able to do anything. We were trained to win wars but taught to keep and bring peace even in the most impossible of situations. While all of us are skilled in each of the aforementioned traits, each guild focuses on a few more than others. Team members were brought together to balance each other out, our chemistry with one another just made to strengthen our bond and together we made a formidable team."

The three younger Hogwarts students nodded their head in unison, the surge of information soaking into their minds slowly.

"Pardon me, but, em, why were you two here today?"

Annabeth and Thalia both looked toward Percy, the boy giving a curt nod in permission to answer Harry's rather loaded question.

"Actually… well, for starters, we came here to warn Percy of Voldemort's return," at this, Ron and Hermione gave small gasps that the girl said His name, "and also of Jean's bounty. I suppose we were a little late for those bits. Um, Percy? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Percy pursed his lips, looking at Hermione before looking at Annabeth, then at Thalia. He then noticed Nico and Grover's absence were for more than just simply not coming. They were off on a mission, presumably with the rest of his unit. Finally, he gave a nod of his head.

When Annabeth broke the news to him, he nearly fainted, Thalia's quick reflexes saving him from hitting the ground.

Poseidon is alive.

Sally wasn't fairing any better.

When a tall, broad, blue-green eyed man walked into her house, she had to grip the counter to keep herself upright.

When he lifted his lips to show that _oh so lovely_ smile she had fallen in love with all those years ago, the emotions swirling within her were nearly suffocating.

And when he spoke, oh when he spoke, with that husky, deep voice of his, so full of power yet with emotion, Sally might as well have fainted right there. But all she could do was watch and listen as the weaker floorboards creaked under the familiar weight of the man who stood before her.

"Sally…" he approached, slight caution in his posture.

Sally could only shake her head, repeating "no" over, grabbing a few cookies and throwing them at him in hysterics, not believing her eyes. He stood there, taking the hits, not lifting a hand when she grabbed the whole plate and threw it at him, the cookies all hitting him in the chest as the plate hit him in the stomach, his reflexes saving the dish from the same fate as its fallen cookie comrades.

"Oh my god," Sally gasped, hand on her mouth. "You're real," she concluded, the crumbled cookies proving the point. "You can't be… I saw… Percy saw…"

Poseidon stepped forward, pulling her into an embrace the pair hadn't been able to relish for nearly two years. He ran a large, calloused hand through his wife's long brown hair, rocking back and forth just slightly to calm the woman.

"How could you!" She finally yelled, tears rocketing down her face, bullets made of her pain and sorrows. She pounded his chest with both her fists, the heart beneath his ribcage pounding back. "We have a _son,_ you left him behind—left me behind," she continued to mimic the pounding of his heart, if it weren't for the multiple layers of clothing Poseidon had decided to wear, everyone in the room was sure bruises the size of Sally's fists would form.

Her cries only urged Poseidon to hold his wife tighter, firmer, as he allowed himself to shed tears. He was finally reunited with the love of his life.

 _No one_ could make him let go.

"I'm so sorry," he whimpered into her hair. And she heard him. She listened. The force of her punches lessened, her body relieved of all tension as it sagged against his strong frame.

As he always had and always will, he held her up, keeping her from crumbling into a pile of nothing onto the floor.

He was finally reunited with the love of his life. Nothing could ever make him let her go.

 **Short chapter I know, but I felt like I should end it here rather than push my writer's block and give you poor fellas another cliffhanger.**

 **So, Clarisse (am I spelling it right? Autocorrect keeps changing it to Clarissa it's annoying) , Travis, Will, and Connor's roles were introduced, woo-hoo! Also, Bianca was mentioned, how's that? How're we feeling about that? I'm still working out whether she should be deceased or alive, that's why her role was pretty vague.**

 **On the other hand, whaaat. Sally and Poseidon raised Bianca and Nico? Now why would that be? What happen to Hades? Ah yes, the question of the chapter. Here's my answer: biscuit I don't even know so don't push me. Haha but really, we'll find out together. Well, me before you but it's the thought that counts. I'm really sorry about my absence, I've just been taking time to find myself and adapt to this new schedule I have. I think what I'll do is finish one story at a time, because if you read my other stories then you'll know I haven't updated A Man Without a Hearth (can we** _ **please**_ **just say AMWAH please? The full title is a handful) and Mr. & Mrs Jackson (MMJ). I'm thinking maybe ease myself back into the writing business by finishing the story I find the easiest to write, and then going to the second easiest and then the hardest of them all. I'm not sure yet I don't want to be unfair to my readers. We'll see. Anyway, hope y'all had a good read. If you're a new reader welcome! And if you're a TMFD veteran, thanks for sticking with me! (TMFD is the man from darkness, by the way. In case you didn't know.)**

 **Alrighty then, until next time!**


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